précieuse
Americannoun
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one of the 17th-century literary women of France who affected an extreme care in the use of language.
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an affected or pretentious woman, especially one marked by preciosity in manner or speech.
adjective
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of précieuse
1720–30; < French; feminine of précieux ( def. ); see -euse
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
These ladies called each other, with demonstrative fondness, "Ma précieuse."
From Classic French Course in English by Wilkinson, William Cleaver
La bienveillance précieuse de Votre Majesté qui s'est manifestée tant de fois à notre égard nous fait espérer fermement que cette fois encore notre appel sera entendu par Son généreux coeur slave.
From Why We Are at War (2nd Edition, revised) by University of Oxford. Faculty of Modern History
Et si vous me retirez de ce monde, ô Dieu de bonté, permettez que ce soit pour me joindre à ceux qui m'out précédé dans votre séjour, et dont l'affection terrestre me fut précieuse.
From Three French Moralists and The Gallantry of France by Gosse, Edmund
She gave him a full history of her brother's honourable and brilliant career; and here let it be said that the précieuse in her gave way to the sister, and that she talked with feeling.
From Marriage à la mode by Ward, Humphry, Mrs.
As the précieuse did nothing according to common usage, she could not dine p. 50like another.
From The Essays of "George Eliot" Complete by Sheppard, Nathan
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
