adj · noun · 3 senses · updated from the 2026-07-25 local source snapshot
Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.
Sound
Pronunciation
Each Play button uses your device's default local English voice, or a natural local fallback. The selected voice name appears after playback. This is synthesized speech, not a source recording.
US:/ˈpeɪnˌsteɪkɪŋ/
US:/ˈpeɪnzˌteɪkɪŋ/
UK:/ˈpeɪnzˌteɪkɪŋ/
Southern-England:Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.
CMU ARPABET:P EY1 N S T EY2 K IH0 NG
Digits mark lexical stress: 1 primary, 2 secondary, 0 unstressed.
1
adj
Meaning 1
Carefully attentive to details; studious; diligent in performing a process or procedure.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
2
noun
Meaning 2
The application of careful and attentive effort.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Usage: countable, uncountable
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
3
adjective satellite
Meaning 3
characterized by extreme care and great effort
Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0
Examples
conscientious application to the work at hand
painstaking research
scrupulous attention to details
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: conscientious, scrupulous
Antonyms: none provided
History
Etymology
From pains + taking; see take pains. The /ˈpeɪnˌsteɪkɪŋ/ pronunciation which dominates in the United States suggests a reanalysis of the word as pain + staking.
Across languages
Translations
37 source translations are retained for this English entry.
