DILIGENT most nearly means:

DILIGENT means showing careful and persistent effort; hardworking. Example: 'A diligent student studies regularly and thoroughly.' Synonyms: industrious, hardworking, conscientious, assiduous, attentive, careful, painstaking. Antonyms: lazy, negligent, careless, sloppy. Related: DILIGENCE (noun — careful and persistent work or effort); DILIGENTLY (adverb). The word comes from Latin 'diligere' (to love or value, by extension to attend to carefully). Common collocations: 'due diligence' (research before a decision, especially in business), 'diligent search,' 'diligent worker.' On the ASVAB, vocabulary related to work ethic and character traits is common: PROCRASTINATE (to delay), PERSEVERE (to continue despite difficulty), RESILIENT (able to recover from hardship), TENACIOUS (holding fast, determined), CONSCIENTIOUS (governed by conscience, thorough), METICULOUS (showing great attention to detail).