painstaking

adjective

pains·tak·ing | \ˈpān-ˌstā-kiŋ

Definition of painstaking

(Entry 1 of 2)

: taking pains : expending, showing, or involving diligent care and effort painstaking research painstaking tasks painstaking accuracy

painstaking

noun

Definition of painstaking (Entry 2 of 2)

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

Other Words from painstaking Synonyms & Antonyms More Example Sentences Learn More about painstaking

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Synonyms & Antonyms for painstaking

Synonyms: Adjective

careful, conscientious, fussy, loving, meticulous, scrupulous

Antonyms: Adjective

careless

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

Remains brought to South Korea would then be transferred to Hawaii, where painstaking forensic work would be carried out to identify them. — New York Times, "North Koreans Are No-Shows at Meeting to Discuss U.S. Soldiers’ Remains," 12 July 2018 Nurses began the painstaking task of removing the more than 1,000 stingers from Tom’s body. — Vanesa Brashier, Houston Chronicle, "Tarkington man survives aggressive bee attack," 3 July 2018 Finding answers for those anxious families can be a painstaking task. — Bob Ortega, CNN, "For families of vanished migrants, unidentified remains mean answers never come," 15 May 2018 The painstaking task took 700 hours over 11 months and 56,000 Lego bricks to complete, but when he was finished, Brynjar had built the world's largest Titanic replica made out of Legos. — Caitlin O'kane, CBS News, "Autistic boy overcomes obstacles to build largest Lego replica of the Titanic," 25 Apr. 2018 After years of painstaking diplomacy, the agreement, signed in 2015, imposed limits on Iran’s nuclear programme in exchange for relief from sanctions. — The Economist, "Blame gamesAs the protests fizzle, Iran and the West consider their next move," 11 Jan. 2018 Both of those accords were the result of years of painstaking diplomacy by European leaders — and Trump unilaterally trashed them. — BostonGlobe.com, "President Trump will get red carpet treatment in UK — and big protests," 11 July 2018 The process was painstaking and especially difficult for the live-action actors, who couldn’t interact with the virtual characters during filming. — Adam Bargteil, Smithsonian, "How ‘Jurassic Park’ Made History 25 Years Ago, Propelling Computer-Generated Animation Forward," 9 June 2018 NBCUniversal’s painstaking restoration premiered at the Museum of Modern Art in 2016. — Jacques Kelly, baltimoresun.com, "In 1930, Baltimore hosted the East Coast premiere of 'The King of Jazz' with Paul Whiteman. Unfortunately, the film was a flop.," 16 Apr. 2018

Recent Examples on the Web: Noun

Both Corker and Senator Orrin Hatch, Republican of Utah, credited McCarry with leading the painstaking, behind-the-scenes negotiations. — Joshua Goodman, BostonGlobe.com, "Back channel with Boston roots helped free Utah man in Venezuela," 27 May 2018

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