What is another word for by the book?
1075 synonyms found
Pronunciation:
[ ba͡ɪ ðə bˈʊk], [ baɪ ðə bˈʊk], [ b_aɪ ð_ə b_ˈʊ_k]
The phrase "by the book" means doing something strictly following the rules or guidelines. There are several synonyms for this expression that can be used interchangeably depending on the context. The phrase "by the rules" is a commonly used synonym for "by the book" and can refer to following established guidelines for proper conduct. Another synonym for "by the book" is "by the manual" which implies following specific instructions laid out in a standardized format. Alternatively, one could use the phrase "in accordance with regulations" when referring to following strict protocol or guidelines set out by law or policy. Ultimately, the key is to communicate that something is being done precisely as it is supposed to be done.
Table of Contents
Similar words for by the book:
- dead-on (adjective)
- exacting (adjective)
- fair and square (adjective)
- methodic (adjective)
- methodical (adjective)
- methodical/methodic (adjective)
- other relevant words (adjective)
- painstaking (adjective)
- proper (adjective)
- stern (adjective)
- stringent (adjective)
- by the numbers (adverb)
- other relevant words (adverb)
- according to Hoyle (noun)
- form (noun)
- other relevant words (noun)
- other synonyms
- other relevant words
Synonyms for By the book:
adj.
• dead-on (adjective)- pinpoint,
- absolutely right,
- dead center,
- dead on,
- very accurate,
- to the point,
- on the button,
- exact,
- direct,
- on the mark,
- definite,
- precise,
- on the money,
- dead-center,
- on the nose,
- accurate,
- unerring,
- the point.
- harsh,
- careful,
- burdensome,
- difficult,
- rigorous,
- hypercritical,
- taxing,
- oppressive,
- tough,
- grievous,
- rigid,
- weighty,
- imperious,
- persnickety,
- trying,
- onerous,
- fussy,
- severe,
- hard,
- picky,
- exigent,
- finicky,
- strict,
- critical,
- particular.
- logical,
- planned,
- neat,
- together,
- meticulous,
- Methodized,
- analytical,
- efficient,
- ordered,
- regular,
- framed,
- orderly,
- deliberate,
- systematic,
- businesslike,
- tidy,
- fixed,
- cut-and-dried,
- scrupulous.
- steely,
- dead-on,
- fair and square,
- set-up,
- unpermissive,
- unsparing,
- proper,
- stern,
- hard core,
- exacting,
- brick wall,
- hardboiled,
- structured,
- hardheaded,
- hardcore,
- hard shell,
- hardline,
- honest and aboveboard,
- flinty,
- well-regulated,
- nit-picking,
- ironfisted,
- stiff-necked,
- cut and dried,
- hang-tough,
- hardnosed,
- dead set on,
- disciplined,
- in a groove,
- brick-wall,
- stringent,
- Iron-fisted,
- all together,
- hard line,
- painstaking.
- conscientious,
- punctilious,
- strenuous,
- assiduous,
- punctual,
- hard-working,
- persevering,
- fussbudget,
- heedful,
- stickler,
- thoroughgoing,
- diligent,
- industrious,
- conscionable,
- earnest,
- sedulous.
- in line,
- conforming,
- decorous,
- prudish,
- refined,
- genteel,
- be coming,
- right,
- puritanical,
- square,
- respectable,
- correct,
- Comme Il Faut,
- solid,
- seemly,
- kosher,
- comely,
- straight,
- priggish,
- stuffy,
- befitting,
- stone,
- prissy,
- prim,
- strait-laced,
- becoming,
- be fitting,
- stoner,
- nice,
- demure,
- polite,
- moral,
- de rigueur.
adv.
• by the numbers (adverb)adv
• Other relevant words: (adverb)n.
• according to Hoyle (noun) • form (noun)- rule,
- done thing,
- convention,
- canon,
- practice,
- way,
- proceeding,
- behavior,
- ceremonial,
- rite,
- law,
- style,
- decorum,
- protocol,
- manners,
- channels,
- ritual,
- regulation,
- custom,
- precept,
- fashion,
- manner,
- formality,
- ropes,
- usage,
- propriety,
- etiquette,
- layout,
- ceremonials,
- method,
- mode,
- conduct,
- process,
- Convenance,
- setup,
- habit.
Other synonyms:
• Other relevant words:- grating,
- dour,
- jolting,
- insistent,
- jurisprudence,
- intemperately,
- manoeuvre,
- strain,
- dressing,
- slick,
- head,
- obdurate,
- attentive,
- strictly,
- crying,
- overmodest,
- fell,
- bitterness,
- drab,
- drill,
- convey,
- impart,
- piercingly,
- rough in,
- drear,
- utilisation,
- impost,
- recitation,
- ruler,
- thrifty,
- posterior,
- tail,
- slap-up,
- law of nature,
- unconscious process,
- only,
- baffling,
- back,
- blistering,
- officially,
- word form,
- plotted,
- bad-tempered,
- prim out,
- fuddled,
- vitriolic,
- circle,
- sic,
- lay,
- square toes,
- fastidious,
- up-and-coming,
- soaked,
- located,
- linguistic rule,
- demand,
- stressful,
- after part,
- apparatus,
- correctitude,
- aforethought,
- raspy,
- discipline,
- drafting,
- calculated,
- heartbreaking,
- rotund,
- mannikin,
- exhaustive,
- even out,
- deport,
- determined,
- compensate,
- take form,
- veracious,
- customs,
- veritable,
- close,
- prim up,
- behave,
- punishing,
- haughty,
- vogue,
- ripe,
- phase,
- everlasting,
- situated,
- consecutive,
- unmanageable,
- backside,
- fundament,
- stuck-up,
- sue,
- taxonomical,
- toilsome,
- lottery,
- hearty,
- flair,
- harlan f. stone,
- intemperate,
- menacing,
- mold,
- nonindulgent,
- grueling,
- bonny,
- spartan,
- staring,
- even off,
- unitedly,
- ceremony,
- fair,
- work on,
- ass,
- endocarp,
- habitue,
- crabby,
- coiffe,
- room,
- outgrowth,
- voiceless,
- pernickety,
- firmly,
- plant,
- make,
- castigate,
- ill-tempered,
- special,
- go under,
- detail,
- countersink,
- exactly,
- mark,
- praxis,
- dress,
- hoodlum,
- sniffy,
- measured,
- govern,
- gumptious,
- integrated,
- dreary,
- legal proceeding,
- hard-bitten,
- make up,
- arranged,
- turn over,
- neaten,
- means,
- heartrending,
- munificent,
- lesson,
- mood,
- completely,
- elbow room,
- clay,
- pattern,
- vital,
- imprint,
- predominate,
- nates,
- flesh,
- paying attention,
- lapidate,
- gross,
- baleful,
- heterosexual,
- dependable,
- mighty,
- effective,
- clamant,
- overbearing,
- unaired,
- localize,
- constrictive,
- limit,
- contour,
- hindquarters,
- derriere,
- figure,
- tradition,
- unappeasable,
- self-coloured,
- civil,
- material body,
- determine,
- overcritical,
- take,
- target,
- band,
- specific,
- demeanor,
- seth,
- purely,
- obese,
- put,
- bonnie,
- abrasive,
- snooty,
- ghastly,
- scratchy,
- inerrant,
- stylus,
- cover,
- unanimous,
- regularization,
- summons,
- bitterly,
- aright,
- frozen,
- pugnacious,
- unconstipated,
- principle,
- straining,
- operation,
- congeal,
- buttocks,
- entirely,
- flat,
- gem,
- bent,
- steer,
- typeset,
- physical body,
- action,
- engineer,
- tail end,
- gruesome,
- wholly,
- keen,
- deportment,
- ruffian,
- hooligan,
- constraining,
- cognitive process,
- employment,
- creed,
- squeamish,
- biting,
- thoughtful,
- obstinate,
- gruelling,
- evangel,
- serve,
- unregenerate,
- formalities,
- build,
- straighten out,
- heavy,
- stark,
- stringently,
- ascetical,
- terrible,
- dingy,
- peachy,
- item,
- good,
- cogent,
- regularisation,
- point,
- smashing,
- harness,
- coherent,
- objurgate,
- mincing,
- unvoiced,
- healthy,
- verbatim,
- behaviour,
- low-spirited,
- utilization,
- barbarous,
- jolty,
- polished,
- corpulent,
- concentrated,
- full-strength,
- stony,
- conformist,
- bottom,
- ominous,
- draft,
- abstainer,
- religious doctrine,
- tush,
- decent,
- practical,
- decisive,
- decorousness,
- sure,
- exercise,
- direction,
- frame,
- unbent,
- but,
- scarce,
- roughly,
- cultured,
- victorian,
- correctly,
- bod,
- human body,
- rasping,
- panache,
- constabulary,
- double-dyed,
- formula,
- decree,
- bandaging,
- normal,
- go down,
- legal philosophy,
- heavily,
- exceptional,
- downcast,
- steadfast,
- square up,
- heterosexual person,
- directly,
- fixture,
- problematic,
- starchy,
- legitimate,
- smashed,
- yob,
- gangrenous,
- pit,
- untiring,
- nail,
- heartfelt,
- straight person,
- square-toed,
- nerve-wracking,
- lucid,
- march,
- teaching,
- sloshed,
- scarcely,
- brassbound,
- decently,
- ban,
- pigheaded,
- lame,
- forbiddance,
- acid,
- fructify,
- yobbo,
- commit,
- manakin,
- localise,
- draftsmanship,
- mannequin,
- dispirited,
- cross,
- uncoiled,
- claim,
- overnice,
- sizable,
- tireless,
- spring,
- perfect,
- musical mode,
- emphatic,
- sizeable,
- behind,
- draught,
- fierce,
- problematical,
- pure,
- rehearse,
- rump,
- lordly,
- laborious,
- disdainful,
- swell,
- acquit,
- dismal,
- disconsolate,
- decline,
- kind,
- straightaway,
- solemn,
- hardly,
- straightlaced,
- arrange,
- straight-laced,
- curing,
- jell,
- tight-laced,
- too big for one's breeches,
- sodding,
- variant,
- snotty,
- specify,
- maneuver,
- right on,
- bumpy,
- unstinted,
- second power,
- sightly,
- rigorously,
- overgenerous,
- fit,
- upstanding,
- sturdy,
- hardworking,
- uncompromising,
- gospel truth,
- dear,
- knowing,
- gloomy,
- uppish,
- var.,
- minatory,
- mordant,
- treat,
- steady,
- unbendable,
- dominate,
- conventionality,
- vicious,
- old,
- skillful,
- case-hardened,
- doings,
- estimable,
- practice session,
- serious,
- backbreaking,
- buckram,
- soma,
- life-threatening,
- convening,
- rough out,
- banning,
- civilized,
- rig,
- quarter,
- barely,
- foursquare,
- plastered,
- find,
- orchestrate,
- goodly,
- monstrous,
- precisely,
- flagitious,
- intransigent,
- knockout,
- sulphurous,
- even up,
- carry on,
- grade,
- slump,
- unshakable,
- substance abuse,
- gemstone,
- severely,
- prat,
- flop,
- fix,
- all,
- gravelly,
- great,
- persistent,
- sinewy,
- exercise set,
- fanny,
- butt,
- mental process,
- right smart,
- approximate,
- pose,
- gospels,
- undisputable,
- minacious,
- unbending,
- in concert,
- straighten,
- wont,
- solidification,
- thorough,
- dandy,
- depressed,
- expressive style,
- demeanour,
- simply,
- rein,
- riding habit,
- reign,
- adamant,
- cultivated,
- carry,
- right field,
- practise,
- atrocious,
- transmit,
- ski binding,
- path,
- method acting,
- hefty,
- corking,
- grouchy,
- all at once,
- ruffianly,
- rocky,
- taxonomic,
- acrid,
- on the dot,
- squarely,
- tooshie,
- dark,
- not bad,
- calculate,
- forge,
- potent,
- solidifying,
- altogether,
- strong,
- lot,
- swear out,
- prepare,
- grumpy,
- can,
- upright,
- address,
- facile,
- utter,
- rock,
- honorable,
- telling,
- grisly,
- graceful,
- crabbed,
- complete,
- arduous,
- swaggering,
- modality,
- natural law,
- buns,
- manikin,
- corpse,
- debate,
- strong-armer,
- roughneck,
- unforgiving,
- on time,
- punk,
- equitable,
- rowdy,
- loaded,
- hardened,
- herculean,
- communications protocol,
- formalness,
- formally,
- even,
- stiffly,
- courteous,
- dash,
- blind drunk,
- clean,
- besotted,
- civilised,
- astringent drug,
- goon,
- keister,
- lineal,
- book binding,
- church doctrine,
- brutal,
- sincere,
- stage set,
- hospital attendant,
- roughshod,
- elusive,
- supercilious,
- right hand,
- solidness,
- usance,
- bear,
- placed,
- tyrannous,
- mastermind,
- counterbalance,
- signifier,
- conventionalism,
- honestly,
- satisfying,
- sick,
- pixilated,
- street fighter,
- kempt,
- unsmooth,
- tenacious,
- soused,
- chasten,
- corrective,
- trend,
- rectify,
- dangerous,
- self-colored,
- class,
- prevail,
- jumpy,
- right-hand,
- constitute,
- processed,
- rear,
- slopped,
- hood,
- ready,
- hard-and-fast,
- straitlaced,
- bad,
- sorry,
- too-generous,
- savage,
- touching,
- practice of law,
- unfaltering,
- wet,
- sort out,
- coiffure,
- approximative,
- groovy,
- restricting,
- laid,
- lapidator,
- personal manner,
- caustic,
- dictated,
- sozzled,
- arrant,
- particular proposition,
- cadaver,
- limiting,
- crocked,
- granitic,
- unbowed,
- observance,
- consummate,
- instant,
- remains,
- manoeuver,
- modal value,
- right wing,
- pie-eyed,
- lay out,
- readiness,
- energetic,
- black,
- shape,
- organize,
- inerrable,
- devout,
- finical,
- descriptor,
- especial,
- coif,
- hardening,
- sinister,
- properly,
- threatening,
- surd,
- disciplinal,
- refractory,
- cast,
- adamantine,
- take shape,
- humiliated,
- channel,
- custom-made,
- tidy up,
- muscular,
- urbane,
- low,
- work,
- ordinance,
- unmediated,
- busy,
- anatomy,
- feather,
- acerb,
- bullet-headed,
- airless,
- just now,
- police,
- unadulterated,
- stodgy,
- embarrassed,
- place,
- cut-and-dry,
- intentional,
- mould,
- appendage,
- unprejudiced,
- wicked,
- blue,
- lavish,
- reliable,
- dainty,
- knock-down,
- coy,
- solid state,
- merely,
- dogged,
- set up,
- consider,
- take aim,
- rear end,
- bang-up,
- pertinacious,
- channelize,
- gracious,
- whole,
- apply,
- aim,
- substantial,
- chastise,
- totally,
- physical process,
- squiffy,
- adjust,
- styptic,
- way of life,
- arse,
- advertent,
- commandment,
- physique,
- mightily,
- cosher,
- variety,
- toughie,
- prideful,
- moot,
- true,
- organise,
- twee,
- hind end,
- affecting,
- title,
- cockeyed,
- rightfulness,
- configuration,
- bum,
- nifty,
- incontestable,
- grave,
- virulent,
- puritanic,
- blotto,
- bitingly,
- tyrannical,
- position,
- harlan fisk stone,
- religious rite,
- prescript,
- gospel singing,
- properness,
- unwavering,
- elegant,
- comport,
- litigate,
- acerbic,
- procedure,
- bigheaded,
- course,
- seat,
- bully,
- pissed,
- poop,
- define,
- yobo,
- downhearted,
- boisterous,
- square away,
- sulfurous,
- consistent,
- analytic,
- uncut,
- tight,
- flint,
- deal,
- firm,
- primed,
- public square,
- redress,
- train,
- thug,
- frame-up,
- channelise,
- toughened,
- rightfield,
- cognitive operation,
- gear up,
- guide,
- brawny,
- cracking,
- agency,
- drawing off,
- unstinting,
- canyon,
- coarse,
- customs duty,
- justly,
- lead,
- speck,
- snot-nosed,
- elan,
- regulating,
- clean up,
- goodish,
- ceremonial occasion,
- conformation,
- use,
- drug abuse,
- peculiar,
- pragmatic,
- police force,
- crude,
- knotty,
- dominion,
- niminy-piminy,
- nerve-racking,
- chassis,
- proceedings,
- sort,
- macabre,
- down in the mouth,
- down,
- rugged,
- one,
- send.
How to use "By the book" in context?
When it comes to dating, there are a lot of people out there who seem to think that everything should be done "by the book." Yes, there is validity to the notion that one should follow all the rules perfectly when trying to win someone over, but there's something to be said for letting your personality shine through. Dating by the book can be a bit constricting, and it can also be quite tiresome. It can be fun to make things a bit more spontaneous, and it can be especially refreshing to date someone who is not afraid to take risks.
Word of the Day
have an impression
- Synonyms:
- daresay.
