scrupulosity means the property of being scrupulous; excessive attention to scruples. Lexicurio rates it Sui generis — a strength score of 85 out of 100.
Why “scrupulosity” is a great word
SCRUPULOSITY — [Noun] A pathological adherence to moral or religious principle, characterized by an anxious preoccupation with minor details and potential faults. From scrupulous + -ity, from Latin scrupulositas, from scrupulosus ("full of scruples"), from scrupulus ("small sharp stone; anxiety, scruple"). First attested in English in the mid-15th century. Unlike conscientiousness, which denotes a praiseworthy thoroughness, or fastidiousness, which centers on detail in matters of taste or cleanliness, scrupulosity is a torment of the spirit. It is the seventh re-reading of a confession, the cold sweat over a prayer's imperfect cadence, and the compulsive washing of hands to cleanse not dirt but a perceived sin—the psyche endlessly grinding itself against that original, invisible pebble in the soul.
Etymology
From scrupulo(u)s + -ity, from Latin scrupulositas.
noun
- The property of being scrupulous; excessive attention to scruples.“So then the whole scripture of God, being true, whence soever this be delivered and gathered, it skilleth not: And it is of us to be taken without curious scrupulosity, as sacred and undoubted scripture, seeing it was written by the holy apostle, into whom the holy Ghost was inspired, as is witnessed.”