minutieux

Minutieux is a French adjective meaning meticulous, thorough, and precise in noticing small details. It can describe a person who is careful and exact, or an action or process that is carried out with great care and accuracy. The form is minutieux in masculine singular, minutieuse in feminine singular; masculine plural is minutieux, feminine plural minutieuses.

The term derives from the idea of attention to minute or small elements, connected to the noun minutie (meticulousness) and to the Latin minutus meaning small. In usage, it is common in scientific, technical, or professional contexts, as well as in crafts and journalism to signal careful scrutiny. Typical collocations include une analyse minutieuse, un contrôle minutieux, un travail minutieux, des détails minutieux.

Nuance: minutieux often carries a positive sense of diligence and precision, but can also imply pedantry if overemphasized. Related terms include méticuleux, scrupuleux, soigneux; antonyms such as négligent and approximatif.

See also: minutie, minutieusement (adverb). The word is primarily used in French; in English, equivalent terms are meticulous or painstaking. An example: Il a mené un examen minutieux des données.