diligent
Working hard and taking care over what you do.
diligent in a sentence
- Aisha was so diligent with her homework that she checked every answer twice before handing it in.
- The diligent gardener weeded every flower bed and watered each pot before the sun went down.
Try an 11+ style question
Verbal reasoning papers often ask about a word like this.
Which word is closest in meaning to diligent?
- Alazy
- Bcareless
- Cidle
- Dhard-working
Show the answer
D: hard-working. The other three mean the opposite of diligent.
Which word is most nearly opposite in meaning to diligent?
- Athorough
- Bhard-working
- Clazy
- Dcareful
Show the answer
C: lazy. The other three mean nearly the same as diligent.
Words that mean something similar
hard-working, careful, thorough
Words that mean the opposite
lazy, idle, careless
Careful: diligent is not clever
Clever is about how quickly you get it. Diligent is about how carefully you work at it. Read why children mix them up.
More words about character & personality
- distinguished: Respected and admired, especially for your achievements.
- dogged: Refusing to give up, however hard things get.
- earnest: Serious and truly meaning what you say.
- eccentric: Behaving in an odd but usually harmless way.
- eminent: Famous and highly respected.
- enterprise: The courage and energy to start new and difficult projects.
- ferocious: Fierce, wild and violent.
- fickle: Changing your mind often about what you like or want.
More words to explore
Sitting the 11+ in Kent, Medway or Buckinghamshire?
Plain-English guides to each test, from the councils’ own pages: Kent Test · Medway Test · Bucks Secondary Transfer Test