Term meaning careful and thorough, almost excessively so [duplicate]
I'm trying to think of a term which means that one expends extra effort or materials in making sure that something is done properly, to an almost excessive or extravagant extent.
One good is example is 'belt and braces'.
I'd like to think of equivalents which, similarly, don't have a negative connotation - equivalents which imply thoroughness.
'Overzealous', for example, has a similar meaning but implies negative excess.
It could be a word or phrase.
I'd like to use the word or phrase to describe an approach, i.e. 'I did it X way because it was sure to cover everything, a [word or phrase goes here] approach.'
So far, many of the suggestions have been negative in connotation:
Over-designing
Pedantic
Nitpicky
These are all undesirable traits and therefore not what I was looking for. Meticulous is more what I was looking for, but is less suitable when talking about one specific act.
The context is something like:
'It was likely that the necessary part lay between 5-10, but we took all of 1-20 in order to make certain that we got it.'
That is a belt-and-braces approach.
How about assiduously?
Showing great care and perseverance
Oxford Dictionaries
According to the Online Etymology Dictionary, the word 'acquired a taint of "servility"' in the 18th century. I think it still retains a bit of this today, but perhaps it's been generalized a bit.
In any case, maybe this has the color you're looking for.
Do you want an adjective (phrase), a noun (phrase), a verb (phrase), or an adverb (phrase)?
- nitpick, nitpicky, nitpicker
- perfectionist
- meticulous, meticulously
- punctilious, punctiliously
- fastidious, fastidiously
- exacting, exactingly
Why not scrupulous
(Of a person or process) diligent, thorough, and extremely attentive to details: the research has been carried out with scrupulous attention to detail
[Oxford Dictionary Online]
How about fastidious?
http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/fastidious
adjective
1. excessively particular, critical, or demanding; hard to please: a fastidious eater.
2. requiring or characterized by excessive care or delicacy; painstaking.
I would suggest exhaustive.
Including or considering all elements or aspects; fully comprehensive:
the guide outlines every bus route in exhaustive detail
[oxforddictionaries]
including all possibilities : very thorough
[merriam-webster]
Another word that comes to mind is scrutinize which is a verb.
to examine (something) carefully especially in a critical way
[merriam-webster]
Examine or inspect closely and thoroughly
[oxforddictionaries]
But you can also say:
...in a scrutinizing way