preserved

[ pri-zurvd ]

adjective

1. (of food or any perishable substance) prepared by canning, pickling, salting, or the like, or treated by some process to prevent decomposition or fermentation:

   I had never had such fresh-tasting preserved fruit before.

2. kept safe from harm or injury; protected or spared:

   This is a wonderfully preserved example of Mayan cave art.

3. kept up or maintained; kept in good condition or health:

   Tucked in Amsterdam’s inner city is a uniquely preserved 17th-century house from the Dutch Golden Age.

4. kept alive or in existence:

   When I take a portrait photograph, I’m capturing a moment in a life, making it a preserved memory.

5. (of game or fish, natural habitats, etc.) maintained or reserved for continued hunting or fishing, or for private or public use and appreciation:

   New walking trails will be built through the preserved areas of parkland.

verb

1. the simple past tense and past participle of preserve.

Other Words From

• sem·i·pre·served adjective
• un·pre·served adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of preserved¹

First recorded in 1550–60; preserve ( def ) + -ed ²( def ) for the adjective senses; preserve ( def ) + -ed ¹( def ) for the verb sense

Example Sentences

Dusting off old recipes for preserves and stocks can help us reduce food waste, source locally, and ultimately, celebrate traditions.

From Popular-Science

Find your patch Birds are readily visible from your home, but if that doesn’t work, nearby parks and nature preserves offer surprising abundance.

From Washington Post

Authorities shipped most of the zoo’s occupants off to wildlife preserves or public zoos, but they decided the hippos were too large to deal with transporting.

From Popular-Science

Cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin, blockchain and the underlying technology have traditionally been the preserve of the libertarian right.

From Ozy

Despite federal protection for the land, loggers illegally, and extensively, felled trees throughout the preserve, which sits on the western coast of Borneo.

From Popular-Science

“The innocence of young people must be preserved at all costs,” said Glees.

From The Daily Beast

Brutality must be rejected as a “mistake,” but simultaneously preserved as a possible policy option.

From The Daily Beast

The vast majority of the authors listed, however, have none of their writings preserved for us, or mere fragments at most.

From The Daily Beast

Alf Adams did not want to talk rats but he did want to show me his bottle collection preserved in a dusty shed.

From The Daily Beast

In 1992, the movie was selected for the National Film Registry and as such has a print preserved in the Library of Congress.

From The Daily Beast

From accounts preserved of the sums expended at sundry public feasts at Coventry (Anno 1452 to 1464) we find that 2s.

From Project Gutenberg

The apocryphal gospels contain many, and some are preserved by Persian and Arabian poets.

From Project Gutenberg

As regards Great Britain, the gold standard is yet preserved for all practical purposes.

From Project Gutenberg

They are very highly esteemed, and a well preserved example will command a large price.

From Project Gutenberg

He must have had plenty of opportunity of identifying it, though he does not tell us whether he preserved it.

From Project Gutenberg

Related Words

• covered
• guaranteed
• guarded
• secured
• sheltered