punctilio

/pʌŋkˈtɪliˌoʊ/

punctilio noun: a fine point in exactness of conduct, ceremony, etiquette or procedure.

Noun

punctilio (countable and uncountable, plural punctilios)

A fine point in exactness of conduct, ceremony, etiquette or procedure.
- […]–but, a-propos, ſaid he—Shakeſpear is full of great things—He forgot a ſmall punctillio of announcing your name—it puts you under a neceſſity of doing it yourſelf.1768, Mr. Yorick [pseudonym; Laurence Sterne], A Sentimental Journey through France and Italy, volume II, London: […] T. Becket and P. A. De Hondt, […], →OCLC, page 68
- The country was rigorous in exacting my compliance to my engagements to a punctilio, but equally careless in performing her contracts with me; and why so?1830, Joseph Plumb Martin, “Ch. IX”, in A Narrative of Some of the Adventures, Dangers and Sufferings of a Revolutionary Soldier
Strictness in observance of formalities.
- Alas! she little conceived that, though without any apparent levity or disregard to the world's censure, yet from an obsequiousness and acquiescence to the will and pleasure of others, into what thoughtless indiscretion and want of due punctilio she might be led; rendering her, in the case of...1838, [Letitia Elizabeth] Landon (indicated as editor), chapter I, in Duty and Inclination: […], volume II, London: Henry Colburn, […], →OCLC, pages 255-256
- This rudeness and official punctilio, however, brought forth a storm of protest from my fellow voyagers.1921 October, Maxwell H. H. Macartney, “An Ex-Enemy in Berlin to-Day”, in The Atlantic

சடங்கு நுட்பம்

শিষ্টাচারের খুঁটিনাটি

conscientiousness, conformity, punctiliousness: കണിശത, ആചാരകൃത്യത, ചിട്ട, വെടിപ്പ്, നിയമസൂക്ഷ്മത, ആചാരനിഷ്ഠ
detail, nicety, fine point: കണിശത, കൃത്യത, സമഗ്രത, സ്ഫുടത, നിയമസൂക്ഷ്മത, നിശിതത്വം

He was a gentleman, and he behaved like a gentleman, with the added punctilio, I think, of being sorry for his betrothed.1884, Henry James, “The Path of Duty”, in The English Illustrated Magazine, 2(15): 240-256:
The minute we get reconciled to a person, how willing we are to throw aside little needless punctilios and pronounce his name right!1891 August 2 (date written; published 1891), Mark Twain [pseudonym; Samuel Langhorne Clemens], “At the Shrine of St. Wagner”, in What Is...
All those wretched quarrels, in his humble opinion, stirring up bad blood, from some bump of combativeness or gland of some kind, erroneously supposed to be about a punctilio of honour and a flag, […]1922 February 2, James Joyce, “[16]”, in Ulysses, Paris: Shakespeare and Company […], →OCLC:
Covert gestures of kindness saved me from trouble, or explained the punctilio of some futile but unavoidable chore.1988, Alan Hollinghurst, The Swimming-Pool Library, paperback edition, London: Penguin Books, →ISBN, page 254:

plural	punctilios

From Italian puntiglio, or Spanish puntillo, diminutive from Latin pūnctum (“point”).

What does punctilio mean?: Punctilio means a fine point in exactness of conduct, ceremony, etiquette or procedure.
What is punctilio in Tamil?: Punctilio in Tamil is சடங்கு நுட்பம். See Punctilio meaning in Tamil.
How do you use punctilio in a sentence?: He was a gentleman, and he behaved like a gentleman, with the added punctilio, I think, of being sorry for his betrothed.
What part of speech is punctilio?: Punctilio is a noun.
How do you pronounce punctilio?: Punctilio is pronounced /pʌŋkˈtɪliˌoʊ/.
What is the plural of punctilio?: The plural of punctilio is punctilios.

Last updated: 2026-09-02

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Cite this entry: “punctilio.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/punctilio. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.