punctual

• POS: Adjective
• HYPHEN: punc=tu=al

CIDE DICTIONARY

punctual, a. [F. ponctuel (cf. Sp. puntual, It. puntuale), from L. punctum point. See Point.].

•  Consisting in a point; limited to a point; unextended.  Milton.  [1913 Webster]

  "The theory of the punctual existence of the soul."  [1913 Webster]
•  Observant of nice points; punctilious; precise.  [1913 Webster]

  "Punctual to tediousness in all that he relates."  [1913 Webster]

  "So much on punctual niceties they stand."  [1913 Webster]
•  Appearing or done at, or adhering exactly to, a regular or an appointed time; precise; prompt; as, a punctual man; a punctual payment.  Cowper.  [1913 Webster]

  "These sharp strokes [of a pendulum], with their inexorably steady intersections, so agree with our successive thoughts that they seem like the punctual stops counting off our very souls into the past."  [1913 Webster]

OXFORD DICTIONARY

punctual, adj.
1 observant of the appointed time.
2 neither early nor late.
3 Geom. of a point.

Derivative

punctuality n. punctually adv.

Etymology

ME f. med.L punctualis f. L punctum POINT

THESAURUS

punctual

accurate, active, alert, apt, attentive, careful, close, compliant, conforming, conscientious, conscionable, constant, correct, critical, decisive, delicate, demanding, detailed, devoted, devout, duteous, dutiful, exact, exacting, exigent, expeditious, exquisite, faithful, fastidious, fine, finical, finicking, finicky, fussy, heedful, immediate, instant, instantaneous, loyal, meticulous, mindful, minute, narrow, nice, observant, on the dot, on time, overconscientious, overscrupulous, painstaking, particular, practicing, precise, precisianistic, precisionistic, prompt, punctilious, quick, ready, refined, regardful, religious, rigid, rigorous, scrupulous, scrutinizing, speedy, strict, subtle, summary, swift, tender-conscienced, timely, true

ROGET THESAURUS

punctual

Observance

N observance, performance, compliance, acquiescence, concurrence, obedience, fulfillment, satisfaction, discharge, acquittance, acquittal, adhesion, acknowledgment, fidelity, exact, observance, observant, faithful, true, loyal, honorable, true as the dial to the sun, true as the needle to the pole, punctual, punctilious, literal, as good as one's word, faithfully, ignoscito saepe alteri nunquam tibi, tempori parendum, to God, thy country, and thy friend be true.

Punctuality

N punctuality, promptness, immediateness, timely, seasonable, in time, punctual, prompt, on time, punctually, at the deadline, precisely, exactly, right on time, to the minute, in time, in good time, in military time, in pudding time, in due time, time enough, with no time to spare, by a hair's breadth, touch and go, not a minute too soon, in the nick of time, just under the wire, get on board before the train leaves the station.

Periodicity

N regularity of recurrence, periodicity, intermittence, beat, oscillation, pulse, pulsation, rhythm, alternation, alternateness, alternativeness, alternity, bout, round, revolution, rotation, turn, say, anniversary, jubilee, centenary, catamenia, courses, menses, menstrual flux, rota, cycle, period, stated time, routine, days of the week, Sunday, Monday, months of the year, January, feast, fast, Christmas, Easter, New Year's day, Allhallows, Allhallowmas, All Saints' Day, All Souls', All Souls' Day, Ash Wednesday, bicentennial, birthday, bissextile, Candlemas, Dewali, groundhog day, Halloween, Hallowmas, Lady day, leap year, Midsummer day, Muharram, woodchuck day, St. Swithin's day, natal day, yearbook, yuletide, punctuality, regularity, steadiness, periodic, periodical, serial, recurrent, cyclical, rhythmical, recurring, intermittent, remittent, alternate, every other, hourly, diurnal, daily, quotidian, tertian, weekly, hebdomadal, hebdomadary, biweekly, fortnightly, bimonthly, catamenial, monthly, menstrual, yearly, annual, biennial, triennial, centennial, secular, paschal, lenten, regular, steady, punctual, regular as clockwork, periodically, at regular intervals, at stated times, at fixed established, at established periods, punctually, de die in diem, from day to day, day by day, by turns, in turn, in rotation, alternately, every other day, off and on, ride and tie, round and round.

Probity

N probity, integrity, rectitude, uprightness, honesty, faith, honor, bonne foi, good faith, bona fides, purity, clean hands, fairness, fair play, justice, equity, impartiality, principle, even-handedness, grace, constancy, faithfulness, fidelity, loyalty, incorruption, incorruptibility, trustworthiness, truth, candor, singleness of heart, veracity, tender conscience, punctilio, delicacy, nicety, scrupulosity, scrupulousness, scruple, point, point of honor, punctuality, dignity, (repute), respectability, respectableness, gentilhomme, gentleman, man of honor, man of his word, fidus Achates, preux chevalier, galantuomo, truepenny, trump, brick, true Briton, white man, court of honor, a fair field and no favor, argumentum ad verecundiam, upright, honest, honest as daylight, veracious, virtuous, honorable, fair, right, just, equitable, impartial, evenhanded, square, fair and aboveboard, open and aboveboard, white, constant, constant as the northern star, faithful, loyal, staunch, true, true blue, true to one's colors, true to the core, true as the needle to the pole, marble-constant, true- hearted, trusty, trustworthy, as good as one's word, to be depended on, incorruptible, straightforward, frank, candid, open-hearted, conscientious, tender-conscienced, right-minded, high-principled, high-minded, scrupulous, religious, strict, nice, punctilious, correct, punctual, respectable, reputable, gentlemanlike, inviolable, inviolate, unviolated, unbroken, unbetrayed, unbought, unbribed, innocent, pure, stainless, unstained, untarnished, unsullied, untainted, unperjured, uncorrupt, uncorrupted, undefiled, undepraved, undebauched, integer vitae scelerisque purus, justus et tenax propositi, chivalrous, jealous of honor, sans peur et sans reproche, high-spirited, supramundane, unworldly, other-worldly, overscrupulous, honorable, bona fide, on the square, in good faith, honor bright, foro conscientiae, with clean hands, a face untaught to feign, bene qui latuit bene vixit, mens sibi conscia recti, probitas laudatur et alget, fidelis ad urnam, his heart as far from fraud as heaven from earth, loyaute m'oblige, loyaute n'a honte, what stronger breastplate than a heart untainted?.

Truth

N truth, fact, reality, plain fact, plain matter of fact, nature, truth, verity, gospel, gospel truth, God's honest truth, orthodoxy, authenticity, veracity, correctness, correctitude, accuracy, exactitude, exactness, preciseness, precision, delicacy, rigor, mathematical precision, punctuality, clockwork precision, conformity to rule, nicety, orthology, ipsissima verba, realism, plain truth, honest truth, sober truth, naked truth, unalloyed truth, unqualified truth, stern truth, exact truth, intrinsic truth, nuda veritas, the very thing, not an illusion, real Simon Pure, unvarnished tale, unvarnished truth, the truth the whole truth and nothing but the trut, just the thing, real, actual, veritable, true, right, correct, certain, substantially true, categorically true, definitively true, true to the letter, true as gospel, unimpeachable, veracious, unreconfuted, unconfuted, unideal, unimagined, realistic, exact, accurate, definite, precise, well-defined, just, just so, so, strict, severe, close, literal, rigid, rigorous, scrupulous, religiously exact, punctual, mathematical, scientific, faithful, constant, unerring, curious, particular, nice, delicate, fine, clean-cut, clear-cut, verified, empirically true, experimentally verified, substantiated, proven (demonstrated), rigorously true, unquestionably true, true by definition, genuine, authentic, legitimate, orthodox, official, ex officio, pure, natural, sound, sterling, unsophisticated, unadulterated, unvarnished, unalloyed, uncolored, in its true colors, pukka, well-grounded, well founded, solid, substantial, tangible, valid, undistorted, undisguised, unaffected, unexaggerated, unromantic, unflattering, truly, verily, indeed, really, in reality, with truth, certainly, actually, in effect, exactly, ad amussim, verbatim, verbatim et literatim, word for word, literally, literatim, totidem vervis, sic, to the letter, chapter and verse, ipsissimis verbis, ad unguem, to an inch, to a nicety, to a hair, to a tittle, to a turn, to a T, au pied de la lettre, neither more nor less, in every respect, in all respects, sous tous les rapports, at any rate, at all events, strictly speaking, the truth is, the fact is, rem acu tetigisti, en suivant la verite, ex facto jus oritur, la verita e figlia del empo, locos y ninos dicen la verdad, crazy people and children tell the truth, nihil est veritatis luce dulcius, veritas nunquam perit, veritatem dies aperit, the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth, just the facts, ma'am, just the facts.