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
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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 WebThe New Yorker, 12 June 2024
The Lego Ideas program, by comparison, does put fan designs on sale at retail, paper instructions and all, but Lego’s designers pick far fewer sets — each of which go through a painstaking process to revise those sets for the masses.
—Sean Hollister, The Verge, 5 June 2024
Building global governance structures, such as the Bretton Woods institutions and the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty, is a painstaking task that can take years.
—Daniel W. Drezner, Foreign Affairs, 21 June 2022
The painstaking construction of the chambers, as well as the goods found inside, indicate the Huans were a family of means.
—Sonja Anderson, Smithsonian Magazine, 24 May 2024
See all Example Sentences for painstaking 
Adjective
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, 12 June 2024
The Lego Ideas program, by comparison, does put fan designs on sale at retail, paper instructions and all, but Lego’s designers pick far fewer sets — each of which go through a painstaking process to revise those sets for the masses.
—Sean Hollister, The Verge, 5 June 2024
Building global governance structures, such as the Bretton Woods institutions and the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty, is a painstaking task that can take years.
—Daniel W. Drezner, Foreign Affairs, 21 June 2022
The painstaking construction of the chambers, as well as the goods found inside, indicate the Huans were a family of means.
—Sonja Anderson, Smithsonian Magazine, 24 May 2024
See all Example Sentences for painstaking
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.
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Cite this Entry
“Painstaking.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/painstaking. Accessed 17 Jun. 2024.
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