kept in a good condition
continuing to appear youthful
she was a well-preserved old lady
First recorded in 1850–55
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
It's known for its exceptionally well-preserved specimens including soft tissue.
From Barron's ● Jun. 18, 2026
Bassist and singer Geddy Lee, his voice eerily well-preserved for a 72-year-old, rode the contours of these numbers with electrifying menace and character, justifying all the risks inherent in this reunion tour.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 8, 2026
Since then, his stunningly well-preserved remains have been kept at the same temperature -- minus six degrees Celsius -- as his icy tomb.
From Barron's ● Jun. 3, 2026
Then go to Bilbao for its art museums, and to Vitoria-Gasteiz for Gothic cathedrals and well-preserved medieval quarter.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Dec. 20, 2025
The man looked well-preserved, but still like something that had been dead for a long while.
From "The Graveyard Book" by Neil Gaiman
Mathieu Deldicque, director of the Conde Museum, where the headdress will go on display, said the find was a "true miracle", stressing that all of its parts were well preserved.
From Barron's ● Mar. 26, 2026
Animal remains also tend to be less well preserved than human remains, which are usually carefully buried.
From Science Daily ● Mar. 7, 2026
The technique can potentially be applied to any part of the world for which there are a large collection of well preserved human remains.
From BBC ● Jan. 1, 2025
Not all of the original evidence had been well preserved, and much of it had to be shipped down to Sacramento from Yolo County, where the initial investigation against Hunt and Lainer had taken place.
From Los Angeles Times ● Dec. 17, 2024
Erosion on the Moon is so inefficient, because of the absence of air and water, that even small craters a few billion years old are still comparatively well preserved.
From "Cosmos" by Carl Sagan
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.
