Word of the Day:

“Scrupulous directors make sure that the sound of their movies is grossly efficient, so that the dramatic meaning of a scene is apparent even in the worst theatre or home system in the country …” — David Denby, The New Yorker, 9 Mar. 2026

More example sentences

People described as scrupulous might feel discomfort if their work is not executed with a sharp attention to detail. Such discomfort might present itself as a nagging feeling, much as a sharp pebble in a shoe might nag a walker intent on getting somewhere. And we are getting somewhere. The origin of scrupulous is founded in just such a pebble. Scrupulous and its close relative scruple (“a feeling that prevents you from doing something that you think is wrong”) both come from the Latin noun scrupulus, “a small sharp stone,” the diminutive of scrupus, “a sharp stone.” Scrupus has a metaphorical meaning too: “a source of anxiety or uneasiness.” When the adjective scrupulous entered the English language in the 15th century, it described someone careful about preserving their moral integrity, but it now is also commonly used for someone who is careful in how they execute tasks.