precious
of high price or great value; very valuable or costly: precious metals.
highly esteemed for some spiritual, nonmaterial, or moral quality: precious memories.
dear; beloved: a precious child.
affectedly or excessively delicate, refined, or nice: precious manners.
flagrant; gross: a precious fool.
a dearly beloved person; darling.
extremely; very: She wastes precious little time.
Origin of precious
1synonym study For precious
Other words for precious
| 3 | darling, cherished |
Other words from precious
- pre·cious·ly, adverb
- pre·cious·ness, noun
- non·pre·cious, adjective
- non·pre·cious·ly, adverb
- non·pre·cious·ness, noun
- un·pre·cious, adjective
- un·pre·cious·ly, adverb
- un·pre·cious·ness, noun
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
How to use precious in a sentence
My clients lost precious years with loved ones, plus jobs and educational opportunities.
Supreme Court hears case of Muslims who say they were targeted for not becoming informants | Robert Barnes | October 6, 2020 | Washington PostJames hauled anything regional and precious on board, as if later it would all prove to have been a myth if he didn’t carry some away as proof that it existed.
To Find Hope in American Cooking, James Beard Looked to the West Coast | John Birdsall | October 2, 2020 | EaterThe government referred to the funds as “key clients” that provided “important sources of revenue and market intelligence” for the precious metals desk.
JP Morgan will pay record settlement to resolve ‘spoofing’ case against 15 traders | kdunn6 | September 30, 2020 | FortuneNow I cover my precious with this clear polycarbonate armor.
A precious metals dealer who sold overpriced gold and silver to older conservatives was sued by the US federal government and 30 states this week for alleged large-scale fraud.
Metals.com is shut down by US regulators after years of allegedly scamming seniors | Jeremy B. Merrill | September 25, 2020 | Quartz
What does the preciousness of our white flesh represent in contrast to burnt brown bodies created by our bombs?
Thank Goodness We’ve Got A Plan! Let the War Begin! | Michael Carson | September 14, 2014 | THE DAILY BEASTHe stripped it of its preciousness, embraced its commercial, mass appeal, and turned the designer into a celebrity.
When Fashion Met Art: Andy Warhol & Halston’s Decades-Long Friendship | Raquel Laneri | May 21, 2014 | THE DAILY BEASTSome of his preciousness is a veneer, however, for his fatalistic streak.
Ralph Fiennes Discusses ‘The Grand Budapest Hotel,’ J. Lo, and That ‘Seinfeld’ Episode | Marlow Stern | March 6, 2014 | THE DAILY BEASTHe would shake them with this horror, he would thrill them with this sense of the infinite preciousness and holiness of life!
Love's Pilgrimage | Upton SinclairIt was under your ministry I was brought to know Christ, and feel the preciousness of his love.'
The Sheepfold and the Common, Vol. II (of 2) | Timothy EastI know so well the preciousness of those smiles that tell one the mind is not held out of all reach of soothing.
George Eliot's Life, Vol. II (of 3) | George EliotI am uniformly cheerful now—feeling the preciousness of these moments, in which I still possess love and thought.
George Eliot's Life, Vol. III (of 3) | George EliotShe had always felt a kind of sanctity about her mouth, a preciousness that must not be cheaply cast away.
What Will People Say? | Rupert Hughes
British Dictionary definitions for precious
/ (ˈprɛʃəs) /
beloved; dear; cherished
very costly or valuable
held in high esteem, esp in moral or spiritual matters
very fastidious or affected, as in speech, manners, etc
informal worthless: you and your precious ideas!
informal (intensifier): there's precious little left
Origin of precious
1Derived forms of precious
- preciously, adverb
- preciousness, noun
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
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