painstaking
Americanadjective
noun
adjective
Related Words
Painstaking, careful, meticulous, conscientious all describe persons or behavior demonstrating attention to detail and effective task performance. painstaking stresses diligent and assiduous attention to detail in achieving a desired objective: a painstaking technician; the painstaking editing of a manuscript. Careful , the most general in sense of these words, implies serious intent to perform well and accurately whatever task one has in hand: a careful housepainter; a careful study of the social structure of gangs. Meticulous suggests extreme attention to details, especially the most minute, coupled with an almost obsessive desire to avoid error: a meticulous silversmith, every detail finished to perfection; fussily meticulous about matching shoes and clothing. Conscientious stresses scrupulous effort to obey one's sense of moral obligation to perform tasks well: a conscientious public defender; a conscientious description of the robbery.
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of painstaking
Explanation
If you notice that painstaking is composed of pains and taking, you already have a pretty clear sense of what this adjective means: to be painstaking is to be so careful, so meticulous, so thorough, that it hurts. Painstaking is most commonly paired with detail — in fact, writers might like to avoid the phrase “painstaking detail” as clichéd. In contemporary usage, the agony implied by the word often seems to be shared by both the person who makes a painstaking effort and the person confronted with the fruits of that labor: “Gertrude’s ability to appear politely interested was tested as her dinner companion related his painstaking attempts to establish himself as the true heir to the British throne.”
Vocabulary lists containing painstaking
List 8
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Hatchet
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The Haunting of Hill House
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Transformative technologies never arrive fully formed; they rely upon determined practitioners committed to the painstaking work of distilling extravagant promise into daily practice.
From The Wall Street Journal • May 8, 2026
For decades, a small program in the Environmental Protection Agency conducted the painstaking scientific work of assessing the toxicity of chemicals.
From Salon • May 5, 2026
A painstaking three days were spent examining the skeleton in situ before he was removed, with all but a small toe bone recovered.
From BBC • Apr. 27, 2026
Besides the usual painstaking design choices every year for its existing products, Ternus has two big challenges at the top of his agenda.
From Barron's • Apr. 24, 2026
I know that sometimes he wonders why I take such painstaking care.
From "Krik? Krak!" by Edwidge Danticat
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
