painstaking

[peynz-tey-king, peyn-stey-] / ˈpeɪnzˌteɪ kɪŋ, ˈpeɪnˌsteɪ- /

ADJECTIVE

meticulous, thorough

Synonyms

STRONGEST

assiduous careful conscientious diligent earnest exacting scrupulous strenuous

STRONG

detail-oriented

WEAK

by the book by the numbers conscionable exact finicky fussbudget fussy hard-working heedful industrious particular persevering persnickety picky punctilious punctual sedulous stickler thoroughgoing

Antonyms

STRONGEST

careless lazy lethargic negligent thoughtless uncareful unconcerned unenthusiastic unscrupulous

WEAK

easy half-baked half-done unmindful unthorough

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.

But Abeer said the painstaking selection of artifacts, which have never been in the same room before, was done without any political interference.

From Barron's • May 29, 2026

"I am deeply grateful to the Commission for their unceasing efforts to find the Disappeared, and for their painstaking efforts to help ease these families' long suffering," said Hilary Benn.

From BBC • May 26, 2026

This is, to put it plainly, the stuff of well-considered emotional rawness, painstaking portraiture of our collective pasts.

From Salon • May 12, 2026

Gilead returned to TAF in 2010, engaging in years of painstaking research and costly clinical trials.

From The Wall Street Journal • May 5, 2026

When he finds several painstaking iterations of a mold that match exactly the size and pear-cut shape of the stone in the vault at the museum, he knows he has his man.

From "All the Light We Cannot See" by Anthony Doerr

Vocabulary lists containing painstaking

List 8

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The Haunting of Hill House

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