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
Alexandra Kirkman, Forbes.com, 1 Aug. 2025
Expected to last from a year to 15 months, the project entails three painstaking phases, which typically would have been carried out behind closed doors.
—Brendan Ruberry, semafor.com, 30 July 2025
But Peskov has said coming to an agreement on peace with Ukraine is likely to be a painstaking and long process.
—Isabel Van Brugen, MSNBC Newsweek, 26 May 2025
For centuries, only a small circle of women in the village of Lula knew how to make the pasta, passing down the painstaking technique through generations.
—Popular Science Team, Popular Science, 16 July 2025
See All Example Sentences for painstaking
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Adjective
Created in 1958 by Lady Susana Walton—wife of British composer, Sir William Walton—with the help of English garden designer Russell Page, the breathtaking sanctuary reflects her five-decade devotion to its painstaking cultivation.
—Alexandra Kirkman, Forbes.com, 1 Aug. 2025
Expected to last from a year to 15 months, the project entails three painstaking phases, which typically would have been carried out behind closed doors.
—Brendan Ruberry, semafor.com, 30 July 2025
But Peskov has said coming to an agreement on peace with Ukraine is likely to be a painstaking and long process.
—Isabel Van Brugen, MSNBC Newsweek, 26 May 2025
For centuries, only a small circle of women in the village of Lula knew how to make the pasta, passing down the painstaking technique through generations.
—Popular Science Team, Popular Science, 16 July 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 20 Aug. 2025.
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