Word.ws English Dictionary

punctilios

punctilios is the plural of punctilio.

Meaning of punctilio

Noun

punctilio (countable and uncountable, plural punctilios)

  1. 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
  2. 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

Questions about punctilios

What is punctilios the plural of?
Punctilios is the plural of punctilio.

Words near punctilios in the dictionary

  1. punctiform
  2. punctiformly
  3. punctiliar
  4. punctiliars
  5. punctilio
  6. punctilios
  7. punctiliosity
  8. punctilious
  9. punctiliously
  10. punctiliousness
  11. punction

Source and license

Adapted from Wiktionary: punctilios (page history and authors); punctilio (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.

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