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Attentive vs Punctilious - What's the difference?

attentive | punctilious |

As adjectives the difference between attentive and punctilious

is that attentive is paying attention; noticing, watching, listening, or attending closely while punctilious is strictly attentive to detail; meticulous or fastidious, particularly to codes or conventions.

attentive

English

Etymology

.

Adjective

(en adjective)
  • paying attention; noticing, watching, listening, or attending closely
  • She is an attentive listener, but does not like to talk much.

    Synonyms

    * reckful

    Antonyms

    * inattentive, reckless

    See also

    * alert * wary * watchful

    Anagrams

    * tentative ----

    punctilious

    English

    Adjective

    (en adjective)
  • Strictly attentive to detail; meticulous or fastidious, particularly to codes or conventions.
  • With a punctilious slap of the gloves, the duel was now inevitable.
  • Precise or scrupulous; finicky or nitpicky.
  • * 2009 , Ronnie Cann, Ruth Kempson and Eleni Gregoromichelaki, Semantics: an introduction to meaning in language
  • Of course, humans do not treat time in such a punctilious fashion.

    Synonyms

    * See also

    Derived terms

    * punctiliously * punctiliousness