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
Lianne Kolirin, CNN Money, 13 Dec. 2025
Owens puts painstaking thought into every nook and cranny and changes things up each year, Martin said.
—Charlotte Observer, 10 Dec. 2025
And their painstaking work, unspooling across six years of the seven-year, $7 million federal grant, has yielded results.
—Martha Bebinger, NPR, 9 Dec. 2025
The loupe lays bare just how painstaking this work can be.
—Jon Wertheim, CBS News, 8 Dec. 2025
See All Example Sentences for painstaking
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Adjective
Tsirogiannis’ painstaking work within these archives has led to many discoveries.
—Lianne Kolirin, CNN Money, 13 Dec. 2025
Owens puts painstaking thought into every nook and cranny and changes things up each year, Martin said.
—Charlotte Observer, 10 Dec. 2025
And their painstaking work, unspooling across six years of the seven-year, $7 million federal grant, has yielded results.
—Martha Bebinger, NPR, 9 Dec. 2025
The loupe lays bare just how painstaking this work can be.
—Jon Wertheim, CBS News, 8 Dec. 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 18 Dec. 2025.
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