- Today's Word
Guileless
GAHYL-liss
Definition
(adjective) Innocent and without deception.
Example
Her guileless smile disarmed even the harshest critics.
Fun Fact
The word guileless flips the meaning of guile, which refers to cunning or deceit. While guile can imply clever manipulation, being guileless is about honesty—sometimes to a fault. In literature and psychology, guileless individuals are often seen as pure-hearted or naive, and their openness can leave them vulnerable to exploitation. But it also makes them deeply trustworthy.
(adjective) Showing great attention to detail or correct behavior; strictly attentive to rules and etiquette
The punctilious editor caught every misplaced comma and inconsistent font size before the report went to print.
Punctilious derives from the Italian puntiglio and Spanish puntillo, both meaning “a fine point” — diminutives of punto, meaning “point,” from the Latin punctum. It entered English in the 17th century to describe someone obsessively attentive to the fine points of conduct, protocol, and procedure.