punctilious vs punctual

punctilious

adj
  • Precise or scrupulous; finicky or nitpicky. 

  • Strictly attentive to detail; meticulous or fastidious, particularly to codes or conventions. 

punctual

adj
  • Acting at the appointed time 

  • Existing as a point or series of points 

  • Expressing momentary action that has no duration 

  • Happening at the appointed time 

  • Periodic; occasional. 

How often have the words punctilious and punctual occurred in a corpus of books? (source: Google Ngram Viewer )