Literary notes about punctilious (AI summary)
In literature, "punctilious" is often employed to depict characters with an exacting attention to manners and detail, emphasizing both their admirable precision and, at times, an almost obsessive adherence to social decorum. Authors use the term to illustrate individuals who carefully mind every nuance of etiquette—from Sara’s meticulous politeness [1] and the fastidious military discipline [2] to the impeccably proper dress and ceremony observed by dignitaries [3, 4]. Moreover, "punctilious" can carry an ironic or pejorative tone, as when it is used to criticize a character's overzealous formality or rigid fixation on minor protocols [5, 6]. The word thus enriches character portrayals and social commentary by highlighting a dual nature: one that admires the virtue of being precise and conscientious in one context, while also hinting at potential inflexibility and triviality in another.
- " If Sara had been older or less punctilious about being quite polite to people, she could have explained herself in a very few words.
— from A Little Princess by Frances Hodgson Burnett - Such are the reasons for the punctilious discipline required of soldiers.
— from Elements of Morals With Special Application of the Moral Law to the Duties of the Individual and of Society and the State by Paul Janet - Brooks returned the captain's punctilious salute with a cheery nod and cordial word of greeting.
— from A Trooper Galahad by Charles King - Mr Vladimir and the Assistant Commissioner, introduced, acknowledged each other’s existence with punctilious and guarded courtesy.
— from The Secret Agent: A Simple Tale by Joseph Conrad - He is the most punctilious blockhead under heaven.
— from The Sorrows of Young Werther by Johann Wolfgang von Goethe - Why was the Spaniard, so superfluously punctilious at times, now heedless of common propriety in not accompanying to the side his departing guest?
— from The Piazza Tales by Herman Melville
