Word.ws English Dictionary

penible

penible adjective: painstaking; assiduous.

Adjective

penible (comparative more penible, superlative most penible)

  1. (obsolete) painstaking; assiduous
    • The encroachments of these men, who are aware of their power, often has rendered the residence of a European among the tribes, the most penible state of existence.1840, Joel Samuel Polack, Manners and Customs of the New Zealanders
    • This was the most "penible" portion of the walk, for although not very steep, the loose and slippery boulders, which covered the surface, made it so insecure that great care was necessary.1862, Mrs. Henry Freshfield, A Summer Tour in the Grisons and Italian Valleys of the Bernina

Forms of penible

comparativemore penible
superlativemost penible

Origin of penible

From Middle English penyble, from Old French peinible. Compare painable.

Questions about penible

What does penible mean?
Penible means painstaking; assiduous.
What part of speech is penible?
Penible is an adjective.

Words near penible in the dictionary

  1. penhouse
  2. penhouses
  3. Penhow
  4. penial
  5. peniaphobia
  6. penible
  7. peniche
  8. peniches
  9. penicil
  10. penicilamine
  11. penicillamine

Source and license

Adapted from Wiktionary: penible (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.

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