painstaking experience

USAGE SUMMARY

"painstaking experience" is correct and usable in written English.
You can use it to refer to a challenging or difficult experience that required a lot of effort and patience. For example, completing college while working full-time was a painstaking experience, but the sense of accomplishment was worth it in the end.

✓ Grammatically correct

News & Media

Human-verified examples from authoritative sources

Exact Expressions

1 human-written examples

It seems, moreover, that Ulrich has herself learned from direct and painstaking experience.

The New York Times - Books

Human-verified similar examples from authoritative sources

Similar Expressions

56 human-written examples

My mother, my knight-in-shining-armor for all things scary and a seasoned veteran in getting me through such painstaking experiences, took the lead and asked a saleswoman where the A-AA cup-sized bras were.

Huffington Post

"If you've ever been through the process, you may understand: it's a universe of confusing products, insurance jargon and painstaking user experience (if we can call it that).

TechCrunch

It was the painstaking, frustrating and enlightening experience of psychotherapy that first took me to Buddhist practice.

The Guardian - Opinion

By describing embodied experience in painstaking, and often painful, detail, these writers strive for a rapprochement with bodies that have become alienating, even to themselves.

The New Yorker

We've all experienced the painstaking job of navigating a mobile site that was clearly not designed for a tiny screen.

Huffington Post

Districts in every part of our state -- from Democratic to Republican districts, from districts on the East side to districts on the West side and urban to rural communities -- are experiencing the painstaking burden of not being able to make ends meet.

Huffington Post

Successful simplicity, as Ive and Rams have each shown, is about capturing the essence of an experience via the painstaking elimination of anything redundant.

BBC

Inspired by his experience with the painstaking process of putting together a complex installation for MIT's 150th anniversary a surface panel of distorted vaults that took Tibbits and his team close to a month to construct– the inquiring scientist in Tibbits took over.

Vice

Accuracy is the selling point of Cawley's Star Trek experience, and the painstaking fidelity to the original designs is jaw-dropping as you walk the corridors of his Enterprise and peep the transporter room, sickbay, engineering room, the Jefferies tube, and the pièce de résistance, the bridge all laid out exactly as it was at Desilu Studios Stage 9 in Hollywood a half-century ago.

Vice

After experiencing real, if painstaking, contact with the world around him, the cataracts had banished him again to the state of being locked in.

The New York Times - Magazine

Expert writing Tips

Best practice

When using "painstaking experience", ensure that the context clearly indicates the specific effort, detail, and patience involved. Use it to highlight not just difficulty, but also the meticulous nature of the work.

Common error

Avoid using "painstaking experience" too frequently in your writing. While accurate, it can become repetitive. Vary your language by using synonyms such as "arduous ordeal" or "demanding endeavor" to maintain reader engagement.

Linguistic Context

The phrase "painstaking experience" functions as a noun phrase where the adjective "painstaking" modifies the noun "experience". It describes the quality of the experience, emphasizing the significant effort and meticulous detail involved, as validated by Ludwig.

Expression frequency: Rare

Frequent in

News & Media

100%

Less common in

Science

0%

Formal & Business

0%

Encyclopedias

0%

Ludwig's WRAP-UP

In summary, "painstaking experience" is a grammatically sound phrase used to describe events or tasks requiring significant effort, detail, and patience. Ludwig confirms its usability in written English. While relatively rare, it effectively communicates the meticulous nature of the work involved. It is mostly present in news sources. For variety, consider alternatives like "arduous ordeal" or "demanding endeavor". When employing this phrase, it's vital to ensure the context underscores the effort, detail, and patience involved. Avoid overuse to prevent repetition in your writing.

More alternative expressions

Phrases that express similar concepts, ordered by semantic similarity:

arduous ordeal

This alternative highlights the difficulty and unpleasantness of the experience.

demanding endeavor

This alternative focuses on the challenging and exacting nature of the experience.

grueling process

This alternative emphasizes the exhausting and demanding nature of the experience.

laborious undertaking

This alternative stresses the extensive effort and hard work involved.

exacting task

This alternative highlights the need for precision and accuracy.

rigorous exercise

This alternative focuses on the strict and demanding aspects of the experience, often implying mental or physical discipline.

challenging situation

This alternative refers to a difficult and testing set of circumstances.

trying circumstances

This emphasizes the stressful and testing nature of the experience.

detailed exploration

This highlights the thoroughness and depth required in understanding or examining something.

difficult time

This is a more general phrase to describe a period of hardship.

FAQs

How can I use "painstaking experience" in a sentence?

You can use "painstaking experience" to describe a task or event that requires significant effort, attention to detail, and patience. For example, "Reconstructing the ancient artifact was a "painstaking experience", requiring months of delicate work".

What are some alternatives to "painstaking experience"?

Depending on the context, you can use alternatives like "arduous ordeal", "grueling process", or "laborious undertaking" to convey a similar meaning.

Is "painstaking experience" formal or informal?

"Painstaking experience" is suitable for both formal and informal contexts, but it is more common in writing than in casual conversation. It adds a level of precision to the description of a challenging task.

What makes an experience "painstaking"?

An experience is considered "painstaking" when it requires a high degree of care, effort, and attention to detail, often involving tedious or time-consuming tasks. The focus is not just on difficulty, but on the meticulous nature of the work required.