🇬🇧 Painstaking meaning: English Vocabulary Flash Card

Painstaking describes the way someone works when they put a lot of time, attention, and effort into every little detail. It doesn’t mean it causes pain—it just means it takes a lot of patience and hard work to make sure everything is done perfectly.

I took painstaking care to frost the cake… then dropped it face-down on the floor.

I wrote my name with painstaking care, and it only took me 27 tries to get it right.

Tim took painstaking time building a card tower, but his hiccup knocked it down.

Lucy gave painstaking attention to wrapping the gift, but forgot to put the present inside.

After painstakingly setting up my dominoes, my cat decided to knock them down—with her tail.

Anna sat by the window, with painstaking care as she stitched a torn doll dress. Her painstaking fingers threaded tiny beads, painstaking knot by knot, painstaking folds smoothed by a thimble. The painstaking work quieted her shaking hands; when the sun set she held the whole repaired doll and smiled, relieved, and whispered thanks into its hair.

This word is at the C2 level, which means it represents the highest mastery of English. It’s often used in specialized or highly formal contexts and helps you communicate with precision and subtlety, much like a native speaker.

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