PAINSTAKINGLY Synonyms: 66 Similar and Opposite Words

painstakingly

adverb

as in meticulously

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Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Recent Examples of painstakingly Shaiman even helped oversee the editing process, painstakingly tweaking his narration. — Brian Raftery, Vanity Fair, 6 Oct. 2026 The sets for our covers, painstakingly assembled by the creative director Jana Frost, are meant to show these arrivals were anything but sudden and easy. — Sam Jacobs, Time, 30 Sep. 2026 The white clapboard exterior topped with typical Norse dragon heads was taken back into the family in 1995 by Haeger’s great great granddaughter Ellika Modenfelt, who painstakingly restored it to its former glory with the help of local craftsmen. — Natasha Langan, TheWeek, 29 Sep. 2026 Anatomy itself is routinely taught as history — a chapter written and closed by Andreas Vesalius, Henry Gray, and generations of anatomists who painstakingly documented the architecture of the human body. — Subramaniam C. Krishnan, STAT, 28 Sep. 2026 Its skull and most of its tail were lost to erosion, while the surviving remains were encased in exceptionally hard rock that researchers have spent years painstakingly removing. — Ashley Vega, PEOPLE, 24 Sep. 2026 These materials were chosen to reflect the sky, water, and painstakingly landscaped gardens around the building to connect the interiors to the environment outside. — Abhimanyu Ghoshal, New Atlas, 21 Sep. 2026 The team used Google Maps and Johnson County’s online mapping system, including historical aerial photos, painstakingly flipping through years of images. — Kendrick Calfee, Kansas City Star, 15 Sep. 2026 Rather, its experience shows that reducing the harms of drug use requires painstakingly building and sustaining a system that connects people with treatment, healthcare and social support without making abstinence a precondition for receiving help. — Karyn Sporer, The Conversation, 14 Sep. 2026

Recent Examples of Synonyms for painstakingly

Adverb

Much of the Red Barn’s irreplaceable art and ephemera, meticulously and lovingly curated over the years, was lost — but the music series, powered by the fireproof resiliency of those who oversee the collective, barely skipped a beat.

— Aaron Davis, Sacbee.com, 2 Oct. 2026
And his film, at once proudly unlikable and meticulously realized, is both a daring display of craft and a rude sign of life—which is to say, the opposite of depressing.

— Justin Chang, New Yorker, 30 Sep. 2026

Definition of meticulously

Adverb

It has also only been trained on a limited number of cell types that biologists have studied exhaustively.

— John Timmer, ArsTechnica, 9 Sep. 2026
Preservation Connecticut’s searchable surveys, built in collaboration with the State Historic Preservation Office, exhaustively document historic barns, mills, artistic places, and town greens in every part of the state.

— Jane Montanaro, Hartford Courant, 20 Aug. 2026

Definition of exhaustively

Adverb

One way in which Wounaan do so is conscientiously sharing and redistributing food, money, wisdom and the like to foster equity.

— Chenier Carpio Opua, The Conversation, 5 Aug. 2026
By thinking locally, building conscientiously, and operationalizing sustainability in our deployment choices, AI users, companies, and developers can also help ensure that the infrastructure powering our future doesn’t cost us the earth.

— Sasha Luccioni, Time, 3 July 2026

Definition of conscientiously

Adverb

Throughout, the thoroughly modern bathrooms have anti-fog mirrors and fluffy robes.

— Condé Nast, Condé Nast Traveler, 6 Oct. 2026
My sympathies are entirely with Prince William, who's a thoroughly honorable, decent young man who's just had it with his brother and wants nothing to do with him.

— Stephanie Nolasco , Ashley Papa, FOXNews.com, 5 Oct. 2026

Definition of thoroughly

Adverb

John had become seriously ill with a liver disease, and the couple had relocated to Koh Samui to seek out a special herb that grew here.

— Condé Nast, Condé Nast Traveler, 8 Oct. 2026
The only person willing to take Calvin’s concerns seriously is Fonda Howander (Mackenzie Davis), a marine zoologist researching out of a nearby facility.

— Daniel Fienberg, HollywoodReporter, 8 Oct. 2026

Definition of seriously

Adverb

On the other side of Via Solari, a handful of policemen gathered around dozens of demonstrators, who ardently—but peacefully—chanted for entirely different reasons.

— José Criales-Unzueta, Vanity Fair, 28 Sep. 2026
This money comes from corporations and the most wealthy Americans, both of whom ardently hate taxes.

— Dr. Michael Good, Hartford Courant, 28 Sep. 2026

Definition of ardently

Adverb

His query was earnestly tackled by the engineers at the RAND Corporation, who, in 1955, published a book composed only of a series of unrelated numerals piled up in neat rows.

— Artforum, Artforum, 28 Sep. 2026
This time around, Demna seemed to be speaking more earnestly about glamour and style, and to a customer base that fashion often pretends is not there.

— José Criales-Unzueta, Vanity Fair, 26 Sep. 2026

Definition of earnestly

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“Painstakingly.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/painstakingly. Accessed 10 Oct. 2026.

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Synonyms of painstakingly

adverb

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