precious

[presh-uhs]

adjective

1. of high price or great value; very valuable or costly.

   precious metals.

2. highly esteemed for some spiritual, nonmaterial, or moral quality.

   precious memories.

3. dear; beloved.

   a precious child.

   Synonyms: darling

4. affectedly or excessively delicate, refined, or nice.

   precious manners.

5. flagrant; gross.

   a precious fool.

noun

1. a dearly beloved person; darling.

adverb

1. extremely; very.

   She wastes precious little time.

precious

/ ˈprɛʃəs /

adjective

1. beloved; dear; cherished

2. very costly or valuable

3. held in high esteem, esp in moral or spiritual matters

4. very fastidious or affected, as in speech, manners, etc

5. informal,  worthless

   you and your precious ideas!

adverb

1. informal,  (intensifier)

   there's precious little left

Other Word Forms

• preciously adverb
• preciousness noun
• nonprecious adjective
• nonpreciously adverb
• nonpreciousness noun
• unprecious adjective
• unpreciously adverb
• unpreciousness noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of precious¹

First recorded in 1250–1300; Middle English preciose (from Old French precios ), from Latin pretiōsus “costly, valuable,” equivalent to preti(um) “price, value, worth” ( price ) + -ōsus -ous

Word History and Origins

Origin of precious¹

C13: from Old French precios, from Latin pretiōsus valuable, from pretium price, value

Synonym Study

See valuable.

Example Sentences

In a post on X, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu called it a "great day", adding that he would "convene the government tomorrow to ratify the agreement and bring all of our precious hostages home".

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They meticulously vacuum, and scrub the walls, windows, baseboards and floors, clearing every open surface and precious possession of reminders of the Eaton fire.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

The price of spot gold - the real-time market value of the precious metal for immediate delivery - rose above $4,016 an ounce on Wednesday morning in Asia.

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The feeling was shared by those leaving critical reviews, with one person calling their Snapchat photos and videos "the most precious thing to me".

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Another speaker at the event on Sunday was Chief Rabbi Sir Ephraim Mirvi, who said: "Today, we recall the precious lives who were mercilessly taken from our midst on 7 October."

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