If you have any phrase, the meaning of which remains a mystery, it is better to divide it into its component parts. Then you analyze what interpretation each individual word is endowed with. After such an analysis, the meaning of the whole phrase becomes extremely clear. Not everyone can correctly indicate what the combination of the words "hard work" means. To expand the vocabulary, we will figure out what interpretations are given to the word "painstaking", as well as "labor". We will also find out what type of connection there is between the constituent parts of this combination of words. We will also indicate synonyms and give examples of sentences with them.
The lexical meaning of the word "painstaking"
Let's figure out what the word "painstaking" means. This is an adjective. It indicates masculine and singular.
In the dictionary of Ozhegov and Efremova you can find what this language unit means:
- diligent to the smallest detail;
- very diligent;
- slow;
- diligent eitherdiligent.
As you can see, the adjective "painstaking" has a positive connotation. This word indicates the diligence of a person, his attention to detail and scrupulousness.
The lexical meaning of the word "work"
Now let's get down to the word "work". This noun is masculine and singular. Ozhegov's dictionary contains several interpretations that the noun "labor" is endowed with:
activity aimed at creating spiritual or material values;
- some activity;
- an effort that a person makes to achieve some goal;
- result of work, product;
- a subject at school that is needed to instill skills in any professional activity.
What does the phrase mean?
Now we can combine these two concepts and determine what the phrase "hard work" means. The meaning is this. This is the name of the scrupulous human activity, which is aimed at achieving a goal.
Here are some examples.
Raising children is hard work, as it requires a huge amount of strength and energy.
The same applies to the art of embroidery. The master sits over the work for a long time, making more than one hundred stitches to get the finished picture.
Planting potatoes is also an activity for the resilient and patient. Needshow a lot of willpower to complete this rather boring action.
In general, any kind of activity that is approached with patience and perseverance can be called painstaking. Of course, it all depends on whether the person likes the job or not. If work brings moral and physical pleasure, it is done many times faster.
Type of connection in the phrase
This is the meaning of the combination of the words "hard work". In some cases, it is important to understand what specific type of phrases this or that group of words belongs to. In total there are three types of connection of constituent parts in phrases:
- Agreement. In this case, the dependent word must agree in case, number and gender. Examples: good weather, sad face, white tablecloth.
- Management. Here agreement occurs depending on the case in which the main word stands. Examples: write a memorandum, crunch your fingers, cover with paint.
- Adjunction. The dependent word must be immutable. Examples: left for work, recorded quickly, stumbled.
Now we can determine what kind of connection this phrase refers to: labor (what?) painstaking. Here the dependent word is combined with the main word in case, number and gender. It can be concluded that this is an agreement. Let's use this phrase in a sentence: "Thanks to the daily painstaking work of teachers, children receive deep knowledge in various fields."
How can I replace this phrase?
Is it possible to match the phrase "hard work"synonyms? Quite. To do this, it is enough to replace one of the words (or both at once) with words similar in meaning. You might end up with options like this.
Diligent work. "The builders were completing the diligent work that concerned the restoration of the Cathedral of Notre Dame de Paris."
- A laborious effort. "It took me a lot of hard work to lose weight and get the figure that I always dreamed of."
- Diligent action. "Thanks to the diligent actions of the security guards, the theft of food from the supermarket was avoided."
- A labor-intensive process. "Issuing a visa is a rather time-consuming process, you should stand in more than one queue."
- Slow action. "The actions of law enforcement officers were slow, but well-adjusted."
Please note that you can combine nouns and adjectives with each other. This way you get more and more options.
You can use them in various speech situations. But still, it is worth carefully analyzing the context and using only those phrases that do not contradict the meaning.
Now you know what the phrase "hard work" means. It can be used to describe diligent and diligent work that a person does with the utmost care.
