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.

Seats that I painstakingly secured via a lengthy online chat disappeared by the time I arrived at the airport and I had to fight to retrieve them without paying a fee.

From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 17, 2026

And FBI agents, who have aided in the immigration sweeps, would normally spend months or years painstakingly amassing evidence before making arrests.

From Salon • Apr. 15, 2026

At 29, after years painstakingly building her career in L.A. and fresh after touring with Kesha, Slayyyter is dragging her music back where it began.

From Los Angeles Times • Mar. 25, 2026

Students and volunteers painstakingly washed and sorted through large amounts of sediment.

From Science Daily • Mar. 3, 2026

Sitting on the front porch every day after school, working at it again at night when his schoolwork was finished, he patiently and painstakingly taught himself to play each instrument proficiently.

From "The Boys in the Boat: Nine Americans and Their Epic Quest for Gold at the 1936 Berlin Olympics" by Daniel James Brown