From Longman Dictionary of Contemporary Englishpainstakingpains‧tak‧ing /ˈpeɪnzˌteɪkɪŋ/ ●○○ adjective [usually before noun] CAREFULvery careful and thorough SYN meticulous The work had been done with painstaking attention to detail. Chris described in painstaking detail what had happened.► see thesaurus at careful —painstakingly adverb The old painting was painstakingly restored.
Examples from the Corpus
painstaking• Knott was kindly, painstaking, cheerful, and imperturbably good-natured.• Chris described to her in painstaking detail the story of the cartoon they'd been watching.• A delicate and painstaking examination with her fingertips yielded nothing.• But even the most painstaking officials could overlook some estates.• painstaking research• This involved a painstaking search of the paper dictionary to find examples of each of the special characters.• They began the long and painstaking task of compiling a bibliography.• Designing the architecture is a painstaking trial-and-error effort.• But the legend never quite died, and two years ago, Hilton International began the painstaking work of reconstruction.• This involves several days of painstaking work to ensure accurate alignment. 