painstakingly
adverb
Simple meaning
Very slowly and carefully.
Pronunciation
Say it like this:
paynstaykihngleeSay the bold part a little louder.
IPA pronunciation (US)
ˈpeɪnsteɪkɪŋli
This word is pronounced essentially the same in American and British English, so one transcription covers both.
IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) is a standard way of writing speech sounds.
Definition
Everyday modern meanings first, grouped by part of speech.
adverb
In a fastidious and painstaking manner
“It is almost a waste of time painstakingly to learn the routines of selling.”
In a painstaking manner; very slowly and carefully.
Word at a Glance
- Difficulty
- C2 · Proficient (estimated)
- Frequency
- Rare
Word Aura™
How this word commonly comes across.
Aura for this meaning
This meaning: In a fastidious and painstaking manner
Used this way, painstakingly is a common word with a clearly warm, approving pull. It quietly approves while staying precise.
“It is almost a waste of time painstakingly to learn the routines of selling.”
- Emotional tone
- Positive
- Formality
- Neutral
- Intensity
- Gentle
- How common
- Common
- Connotation
- Careful and exacting
- Usage feel
- Precise and approving
Usage note
It most often appears in the pattern “painstakingly to …”, which is worth copying when you use it.
Nearby words
- fastidiously , rarer, so it draws attention
Natural pattern: painstakingly to …
Word Aura describes common impressions, not a measurement. Tone changes with sentence, speaker, relationship and situation.
More ways to use painstakingly
- “It is almost a waste of time painstakingly to learn the routines of selling.”adverb
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Common Patterns and Combinations
How this word naturally appears with others.
More about this wordSynonyms, forms, origin
Synonyms
Sense: in a fastidious and painstaking manner
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Dictionary data from Wiktionary via the Free Dictionary API. Simple meanings, combinations and word intelligence are built from verified reference data, no AI is used to load this page.