Definitions
from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.
- adjective Acting with, showing, or involving great care and attention. synonym: meticulous.
- adjective Usage Problem Attended by difficulties; arduous.
from The Century Dictionary.
- noun The taking of pains; assiduous and careful labor.
- That takes pains or trouble; characterized by close, careful, assiduous, or conscientious application or labor; industrious; laborious and careful: as, a painstaking person.
from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.
- adjective Careful in doing; diligent; faithful; attentive.
- noun The act of taking pains; carefulness and fidelity in performance.
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.
- adjective
Carefully attentive to details;diligent in performing a process or procedure. - noun The application of careful and
attentive effort .
from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.
- adjective characterized by extreme care and great effort
Etymologies
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License
Support
Help support Wordnik (and make this page ad-free) by adopting the word painstaking.
Examples
-
However, the sad story of the Yaquis 'fate, at the hands of the Mexican government itself, was related in painstaking detail in a book entitled Barbarous Mexico, published by an American, John Kenneth Turner, in 1911.
Yaqui in exile: the grim history of Mexico's San Marcos train station 2009
-
Not only did the doctor who did my root canal explain, in painstaking detail, what would happen and why, I had to listen to a little lesson about possible risks and sign a whole bunch of papers saying I understood the risks and was OK with them.
-
However, the sad story of the Yaquis 'fate, at the hands of the Mexican government itself, was related in painstaking detail in a book entitled Barbarous Mexico, published by an American, John Kenneth Turner, in 1911.
Yaqui in exile: the grim history of Mexico's San Marcos train station 2009
-
It will explain, in painstaking detail, both why I tend to go ballistic on people who are a little pushy with their advice, and also why so many people were very very upset about the OSBP proposal.
The real offence, as she ultimately perceived, was her having a mind of her own at all. commodorified 2008
-
All good work arose in painstaking, painful sobriety, without any pleasant buzzing in the head.
-
For several weeks the back of my brain was busy contemplating this daft question, after disassembling the word painstaking in my head.
Archive 2006-01-01 DAVID BISHOP 2006
-
Roxy Paine’s maelstrom of metal branches entangle the rooftop garden, and Argentino-brit Pablo Bronstein’s subtle pisstake in painstaking architects’ drawings of the neoclassical pomposity of the Met itself is quietly outstanding.
-
Roxy Paine’s maelstrom of metal branches entangle the rooftop garden, and Argentino-brit Pablo Bronstein’s subtle pisstake in painstaking architects’ drawings of the neoclassical pomposity of the Met itself is quietly outstanding.
-
The truth is, I didn’t want to have to call any parents, so by outlining everything in painstaking detail in my newsletters, I could avoid it.
-
Maud Colas, the patient navigator assigned to Ms. Williams, recalls painstaking sessions to get her to agree to treatment -- even while respecting her religious convictions.
seanahan commented on the word painstaking
I always pronounce and hear it pronounced "pain-staking", but almost certainly it is "pains-taking", right?
January 31, 2008
jennarenn commented on the word painstaking
I would think so. We're just all lazy bums.
January 31, 2008
mollusque commented on the word painstaking
So how would you pronounce "painstalking"?
January 31, 2008
seanahan commented on the word painstaking
At first glance, "pain-stalking", but that probably isn't right.
February 1, 2008