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 Word Forms

• semipreserved adjective
• unpreserved 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

Rudyard Kipling was honored at a dinner at the club on April 2, 1898, where guests enjoyed beef fillet and lamb medallions alongside Chateau Mouton Rothschild, 1882 vintage, according to a menu preserved there.

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Like other fans, the Korshaks preserved the history as well as the content of the neglected genre they loved.

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She co-founded a school for orphans, preserved and sold Hamilton’s papers, and commissioned a biographical project that kept running aground.

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Fans wanted those stories preserved as closely to the ways they imagined them while reading the novels; those adaptations were the single shot at bringing the story to life.

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A slicing sheet of rain, lazily snaking smoke, ragged-edged sea foam, a bird’s wing midflap: Each is forever preserved and, here, accompanied by essays on the artist’s life, times and techniques.

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Related Words

• covered www.thesaurus.com
• guaranteed www.thesaurus.com
• guarded 
• secured www.thesaurus.com
• sheltered