diligent

adjective

dil·​i·​gent ˈdi-lə-jənt How to pronounce diligent (audio)
: characterized by steady, earnest, and energetic effort : painstaking
a diligent worker
diligently adverb

Did you know?

You’re more likely to be diligent about something if you love doing it. The etymology of diligent reflects the fact that devotion can lead to energetic effort. The word, which entered English in the 14th century by way of Anglo-French, comes from the Latin verb diligere, meaning “to value or esteem highly” or “to love.” Diligere was formed by combining the di- prefix (from dis-, meaning “apart”) with the verb legere, meaning “to gather, select” or “to read.” Legere has itself proved to be a diligent contributor to English; its offspring include collect, lecture, legend, intelligent, and legume.

Choose the Right Synonym for diligent

busy, industrious, diligent, assiduous, sedulous mean actively engaged or occupied.

busy chiefly stresses activity as opposed to idleness or leisure.

too busy to spend time with the children

industrious implies characteristic or habitual devotion to work.

industrious employees

diligent suggests earnest application to some specific object or pursuit.

very diligent in her pursuit of a degree

assiduous stresses careful and unremitting application.

assiduous practice

sedulous implies painstaking and persevering application.

a sedulous investigation of the murder

Examples of diligent in a Sentence

The American intelligence community's single greatest failing is its lack of good "humint"—human intelligence, the dirty, diligent, shoe-leather penetration of terror networks. Johanna McGeary, Time, 15 Oct. 2001
Like any diligent foreign correspondent, he attends the briefings and collects face time with the officials, but he knows it's the citizens (the upstanding as well as the jailers, the whores, the black marketeers and the smugglers) who tell the truth … Rolling Stone, 19 Sept. 1996
He was a fourth-year drama student at UCLA and diligent about such valuable actorly exercises as eavesdropping, spying, and telling complicated lies to fellow passengers on airplanes. Michael Chabon, A Model World and Other Stories, 1991
In spite of diligent work as editor, hack writer, sea captain, and assorted other trades, he wound up poor. Monroe K. Spears, American Ambitions, 1987
a student who has been unceasingly diligent in pursuit of a degree in mathematics
Recent Examples on the Web And school employees who looked out for her are more diligent. Ellie Silverman, Washington Post, 3 Mar. 2024 Over the last year, many small yet diligent publishers faced severe traffic declines due to Google algorithm updates, with some unfortunately forced to close up shop. Anat (anne Moss) El Hashahar, Forbes, 1 Mar. 2024 Miller was diligent about his correspondence, according to Julia Bolus, the director of the Arthur Miller Trust and the playwright’s former assistant, but a reply of this length was exceptional. Andrew Aoyama, The Atlantic, 28 Feb. 2024 During the January arctic blast, our diligent preparation and the unmatched capabilities of Texas’ oil, gas, and coal sectors helped keep lights on and homes warm, with an impressive 95% of the power generated during the storm’s peak coming from those sources. Eleanor Dearman, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 15 Feb. 2024 With his zeal for Jesus sweaters and his living-room church organ, Bernie plays the bumbling househusband to his successful businesswoman wife Eva (Alicia Silverstone), and father to his diligent scientist son Adam (Walt Klink) and moody shut-in daughter Sarah (Gaite Jansen). Siddhant Adlakha, Variety, 23 Jan. 2024 Coach Tata Martino was diligent with playing time, allowing his entire team (outside of a backup goalie) play during the match. Safid Deen, USA TODAY, 23 Jan. 2024 With diligent testing and responsible deployment, autonomous technologies supported by edge computing have the potential to augment human capabilities profoundly and transcend current limitations. Steve Richmond, Forbes, 13 Feb. 2024 As water infrastructure increasingly requires diligent oversight, HydroCorp's innovative strategy focuses on the precise detection and management of unlocated backflow hazards, ensuring thorough documentation and adherence to compliance standards for water systems of varying sizes. Sacramento Bee, 13 Feb. 2024

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'diligent.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

Etymology

Middle English, from Anglo-French, from Latin diligent-, diligens, from present participle of diligere to esteem, love, from di- (from dis- apart) + legere to select — more at legend

First Known Use

14th century, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of diligent was in the 14th century

Podcast

Dictionary Entries Near diligent

Cite this Entry

“Diligent.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/diligent. Accessed 19 Mar. 2024.

Kids Definition

diligent

adjective
dil·​i·​gent ˈdil-ə-jənt How to pronounce diligent (audio)
: showing steady and earnest care and effort : painstaking
a diligent search
a diligent worker
diligently adverb

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