painstaking

1 of 2

adjective

pains·​tak·​ing ˈpān-ˌstā-kiŋ How to pronounce painstaking (audio)
: taking pains : expending, showing, or involving diligent care and effort
painstaking research
painstaking tasks
painstaking accuracy
painstakingly adverb

painstaking

2 of 2

noun

: the action of taking pains : diligent care and effort
… greater painstaking to achieve incidental verisimilitude and accuracy of detail …Times Literary Supplement

Examples of painstaking in a Sentence

Adjective The book describes the election process in painstaking detail. she was always painstaking about her work
Recent Examples on the Web
Adjective
So volunteers have fanned out across the country and performed the painstaking work of gathering tens of thousands of signatures from everyday citizens. Will McDuffie, ABC News, 14 Mar. 2024 Jennifer Lawrence’s 2024 Oscars gown was the result of 1,500 hours of painstaking work in the Dior atelier, but her dazzling appearance on the red carpet at the Vanity Fair party after the ceremony was 28 years in the making. Kerry McDermott, Vogue, 11 Mar. 2024 This iteration of poly has an embarrassingly utopic bent, though somewhat deflated by the terrestrial pragmatism of scheduling and painstaking communication. TIME, 9 Feb. 2024 In this elegiac history, Joyce presents a painstaking account of a way of life to which, until recently, the vast majority of humanity was bound. The New Yorker, 4 Mar. 2024 Scientists typically identify whales photo by photo, matching the tails in a painstaking process. Lauren Sommer, NPR, 29 Feb. 2024 Given that Smile Jamaica is one of the most famed music concerts in history, recreating the performance for One Love was a painstaking process for which the cast rose to the occasion. Kyle Denis, Billboard, 17 Feb. 2024 The central body of the $5-billion Europa Clipper arrived in June 2022 at the Pasadena campus of NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory for the painstaking final assembly of components shipped from across the U.S. and Europe. Ronald D. White, Los Angeles Times, 26 Feb. 2024 Tracking down derelict boat owners is a painstaking process. David Goodhue, Miami Herald, 26 Feb. 2024

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'painstaking.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

First Known Use

Adjective

circa 1685, in the meaning defined above

Noun

1538, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of painstaking was in 1538

Dictionary Entries Near painstaking

Cite this Entry

“Painstaking.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/painstaking. Accessed 29 Mar. 2024.

Kids Definition

painstaking

adjective
pains·​tak·​ing
ˈpān-ˌstā-kiŋ
: taking or showing great care and effort
a painstaking search
painstakingly
-kiŋ-lē
adverb

More from Merriam-Webster on painstaking

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