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
Popular Science Team, Popular Science, 16 July 2025
This mentality along with the team that does this incredibly creative and painstaking work will now be applied to the entire Hyatt Lifestyle Group portfolio.
—Roger Sands, Forbes.com, 8 July 2025
When not, like Yola did, slinging a Fender Telecaster or like opener Joy, unfurling a contralto voice that roundly filled the room with her soul's expression as much as the air from her lungs, both performers took painstaking effort to explain their craftswomanship as songwriters.
—Marcus K. Dowling, The Tennessean, 2 July 2025
An Achilles injury has kept him out of action of late, and the recovery process, which the two-time Olympic champion is documenting on his YouTube channel, seems arduous and painstaking – even boring.
—George Ramsay, CNN Money, 23 June 2025
See All Example Sentences for painstaking
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Adjective
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
This mentality along with the team that does this incredibly creative and painstaking work will now be applied to the entire Hyatt Lifestyle Group portfolio.
—Roger Sands, Forbes.com, 8 July 2025
When not, like Yola did, slinging a Fender Telecaster or like opener Joy, unfurling a contralto voice that roundly filled the room with her soul's expression as much as the air from her lungs, both performers took painstaking effort to explain their craftswomanship as songwriters.
—Marcus K. Dowling, The Tennessean, 2 July 2025
An Achilles injury has kept him out of action of late, and the recovery process, which the two-time Olympic champion is documenting on his YouTube channel, seems arduous and painstaking – even boring.
—George Ramsay, CNN Money, 23 June 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 29 Jul. 2025.
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