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
Fred He, CNN Money, 6 Nov. 2025
After intensive practice, the patient was able to move a cursor on a screen—a significant achievement, but a painstaking one.
—Jeffrey Kluger, Time, 6 Nov. 2025
Sharing a series of photos documenting the painstaking process, the homeowner revealed layers of paint, tar, and other substances that had built up over the years.
—Lucy Notarantonio, MSNBC Newsweek, 4 Nov. 2025
For its painstaking physicality alone, stop-motion is inherently impressive as an animation technique, no matter the scale or budgetary specifics of the project.
—Carlos Aguilar, Variety, 31 Oct. 2025
See All Example Sentences for painstaking
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Adjective
Restoring the Qianlong Garden took more than two decades, a costly and painstaking process based on a 2000 cooperation agreement signed by the World Monuments Fund and the museum, which estimated a price tag of $15-18 million.
—Fred He, CNN Money, 6 Nov. 2025
After intensive practice, the patient was able to move a cursor on a screen—a significant achievement, but a painstaking one.
—Jeffrey Kluger, Time, 6 Nov. 2025
Sharing a series of photos documenting the painstaking process, the homeowner revealed layers of paint, tar, and other substances that had built up over the years.
—Lucy Notarantonio, MSNBC Newsweek, 4 Nov. 2025
For its painstaking physicality alone, stop-motion is inherently impressive as an animation technique, no matter the scale or budgetary specifics of the project.
—Carlos Aguilar, Variety, 31 Oct. 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 12 Nov. 2025.
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