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ehavior, etiquette, or mutual intercourse; precise; exact in the smallest particulars. "A punctilious observance of divine laws." Rogers. "Very punctilious copies of any letters. The Nation. Punctilious in the simple and intelligible instances of common life. I. Taylor. -- Punc*til"ious*ly, adv. -- Punc*til"ious*ness,…

ribed or customary rules and forms; devoted to forms and ceremonies; formally respectful; punctilious. "Ceremonious phrases." Addison. Too ceremonious and traditional. Shak.

Wanting in punctilious respect; discourteous. [Obs.] That were dispunct to the ladies. B. Jonson.

Devoted to, or done in accordance with, forms or rules; punctilious; regular; orderly; methodical; of a prescribed form; exact; prim; stiff; ceremonious; as, a man formal in his dress, his gait, his conversation. A cold-looking, formal garden, cut into angles and rhomboids. W. Irwing. She took off the formal cap that c…

at snapper (Zoöl.), a bird that catches gnats. -- Gnat strainer, a person ostentatiously punctilious about trifles. Cf. Matt. xxiii. 24.

Strictly adhering or conforming to rule; very nice or exact; punctilious in conduct or ceremony; formal; ceremonious. Addison. He was ever precise in promise-keeping. Shak.

Observant of nice points; punctilious; precise. Punctual to tediousness in all that he relates. Bp. Burnet. So much on punctual niceties they stand. C. Pitt.