punctual
adjective
Simple meaning
Related to something that happens at a given place and time.
Pronunciation
Say it like this:
puhngkchoouhlSay the bold part a little louder.
IPA pronunciation (US)
ˈpʌŋktʃuəl
This word is pronounced essentially the same in American and British English, so one transcription covers both.
IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) is a standard way of writing speech sounds.
Definition
Everyday modern meanings first, grouped by part of speech.
adjective
Acting or arriving or performed exactly at the time appointed
“She expected guests to be punctual at meals.”
Of an event, happening at the appointed time.
Of a person, acting at the appointed time.
Prompt; on time.
Word at a Glance
- Difficulty
- C2 · Proficient (estimated)
- Frequency
- Rare
- Typical Use
- Primarily written
Word Aura™
How this word commonly comes across.
Aura for this meaning
This meaning: Acting or arriving or performed exactly at the time appointed
Used this way, punctual is a common word that usually carries little praise or criticism of its own. It usually sounds natural in a wide range of settings.
“She expected guests to be punctual at meals.”
- Emotional tone
- Neutral
- Formality
- Neutral
- Intensity
- Not strongly marked
- How common
- Common
- Connotation
- No strong connotation
- Usage feel
- Neutral and straightforward
Word Aura describes common impressions, not a measurement. Tone changes with sentence, speaker, relationship and situation.
More ways to use punctual
- “She expected guests to be punctual at meals.”adjective
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Common Patterns and Combinations
How this word naturally appears with others.
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Word Family
Related forms, grouped by how they connect.
Word family
Words built from the same root.
Something that makes repeated and regular interruptions or divisions.
More about this wordSynonyms, forms, origin
Synonyms
Sense: acting or arriving
Antonyms
Sense: acting or arriving
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Dictionary data from Wiktionary via the Free Dictionary API. Simple meanings, combinations and word intelligence are built from verified reference data, no AI is used to load this page.