pains·tak·ing
ˈpān-ˌstā-kiŋ 
: taking pains : expending, showing, or involving diligent care and effort
painstaking research
painstaking tasks
painstaking accuracy
: the action of taking pains : diligent care and effort
… greater painstaking to achieve incidental verisimilitude and accuracy of detail …—
Times Literary Supplement
Times Literary SupplementExamples 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
Dexter Filkins, New Yorker, 14 July 2025
These types of stories are often the result of months of painstaking work.
—Greg Borowski, jsonline.com, 11 July 2025
After three days of painstaking negotiations, the fate of a major student loan repayment program was in their hands.
—Zachary Schermele, USA Today, 5 July 2025
The editing process remains one of the show’s most painstaking challenges.
—Jamie Lang, Variety, 12 June 2025
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Adjective
The lists often took months or even years of painstaking work to compile; by late 2023, there were some two thousand Hamas targets and some ten thousand Hezbollah targets.
—Dexter Filkins, New Yorker, 14 July 2025
These types of stories are often the result of months of painstaking work.
—Greg Borowski, jsonline.com, 11 July 2025
After three days of painstaking negotiations, the fate of a major student loan repayment program was in their hands.
—Zachary Schermele, USA Today, 5 July 2025
The editing process remains one of the show’s most painstaking challenges.
—Jamie Lang, Variety, 12 June 2025
See All Example Sentences for painstaking
Cite this Entry
“Painstaking.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/painstaking. Accessed 19 Jul. 2025.
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