pains.tak.ing 5peInz.teI7kIN adj extremely careful and correct, and using a lot of effort 辛勤的，刻苦的 It took months of painstaking research to write the book. 我刻苦研究了好几个月才写出这本书。 He was described by his colleagues as a painstaking journalist. 他被同事们描述为苦干的记者。