Definition of DILIGENT

Choose the Right Synonym for diligent

busy, industrious, diligent, assiduous, sedulous mean actively engaged or occupied. busy chiefly stresses activity as opposed to idleness or leisure. too busy to spend time with the children industrious implies characteristic or habitual devotion to work. industrious employees diligent suggests earnest application to some specific object or pursuit. very diligent in her pursuit of a degree assiduous stresses careful and unremitting application. assiduous practice sedulous implies painstaking and persevering application. a sedulous investigation of the murder

Examples of diligent in a Sentence

The American intelligence community's single greatest failing is its lack of good "humint"—human intelligence, the dirty, diligent, shoe-leather penetration of terror networks. — Johanna McGeary, Time, 15 Oct. 2001 Like any diligent foreign correspondent, he attends the briefings and collects face time with the officials, but he knows it's the citizens (the upstanding as well as the jailers, the whores, the black marketeers and the smugglers) who tell the truth … — Rolling Stone, 19 Sept. 1996 He was a fourth-year drama student at UCLA and diligent about such valuable actorly exercises as eavesdropping, spying, and telling complicated lies to fellow passengers on airplanes. — Michael Chabon, A Model World and Other Stories, 1991 In spite of diligent work as editor, hack writer, sea captain, and assorted other trades, he wound up poor. — Monroe K. Spears, American Ambitions, 1987 a student who has been unceasingly diligent in pursuit of a degree in mathematics

Recent Examples on the Web

The family wishes to thank the caring and diligent personal care attendants and nurses of Hughes Health and Rehabilitation in West Hartford, CT. — courant.com, "Yolande Nadeau," 6 June 2019 But with some rest and diligent stretching and rolling, the pain started slowly but surely improving. — Emilia Benton, SELF, "How I Treated My Plantar Fasciitis in Time to Run My Best Marathon Yet," 8 May 2019 If researchers know that producing bad work has social and career consequences, this incentivizes more careful and diligent work. — Ars Technica, "The Journal of Controversial Ideas—academic freedom sans responsibility is reckless," 25 Nov. 2018 The most that can and will be said is that, despite Coach Pitino’s rigorous and diligent supervision of staff, some engaged in misdeeds. — Gentry Estes, The Courier-Journal, "Attorneys: Louisville smeared Rick Pitino and Tom Jurich to save money," 4 June 2018 On that album, the past met the present as Rock’s jazzy New York sounds intertwined seamlessly with DZA’s versatile and diligent wordplay. — Mark Elibert, Billboard, "Smoke DZA Talks New Album 'Not for Sale,' His Love for Wrestling & Adjusting to the New Generation of Rap," 27 Apr. 2018 All those folded and flattened corrugated cardboard boxes are a testament to Americans' diligent recycling efforts — to a degree. — Elizabeth Weise, USA TODAY, "Blue bins overflow with Amazon and Walmart boxes. But we're actually recycling less," 8 June 2018 That's almost enough to fill a 2 liter bottle—which even the most diligent water-drinkers may find daunting. — Amy Marturana, SELF, "Here’s Exactly How Much Water You Should Drink Every Day," 2 Jan. 2019 The diligent, computer-savvy-in-a-more-practical-way-than-us folks at Fusion combed over the data to create a ranking, which New Jersey tops at 0.82 percent. — Chelsea Peng, Marie Claire, "A Master Post Documenting the Ashley Madison Aftershock," 15 Sep. 2015

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'diligent.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.