methodical.

Working carefully through an organized sequence of steps.

Use it for

Words that belong together

• methodical approach
• methodical investigation

On the page

Her methodical search uncovered the missing correspondence.

Usage notes

Primary category: academic / formal. Forms: Comparative more methodical; superlative most methodical when comparison is meaningful. Legacy lexical fields mirror sense 1 only. Use numbered sense fields for all meanings. Established modern English lexical item. No separate regional spelling or grammatical inflection entry. Writing functions: analysis, qualification. Commonness: moderately common.