Definitions for precious
ˈprɛʃ əspre·cious

Princeton's WordNet(5.00 / 1 vote)Rate this definition:

1. cherished, precious, treasured, wantedadjective

   characterized by feeling or showing fond affection for

   "a cherished friend"; "children are precious"; "a treasured heirloom"; "so good to feel wanted"

2. preciousadjective

   of high worth or cost

   "diamonds, sapphires, rubies, and emeralds are precious stones"

3. valued, preciousadjective

   held in great esteem for admirable qualities especially of an intrinsic nature

   "a valued friend"; "precious memories"

4. cute, preciousadverb

   obviously contrived to charm

   "an insufferably precious performance"; "a child with intolerably cute mannerisms"

5. precious, preciouslyadverb

   extremely

   "there is precious little time left"

Wiktionary(5.00 / 1 vote)Rate this definition:

1. preciousnoun

   someone (or something) who is loved; a darling

   Etymology: From precious, from precios, from pretiosus, from pretium; see price.

2. preciousadverb

   used as an intensifier

   There is precious little we can do.

   Etymology: From precious, from precios, from pretiosus, from pretium; see price.

3. preciousadjective

   of high value or worth, or seemingly regarded as such

   Etymology: From precious, from precios, from pretiosus, from pretium; see price.

4. preciousadjective

   regarded with love or tenderness.

   Etymology: From precious, from precios, from pretiosus, from pretium; see price.

5. preciousadjective

   treated with too much reverence.

   Etymology: From precious, from precios, from pretiosus, from pretium; see price.

6. preciousadjective

   contrived to be cute or charming

   Etymology: From precious, from precios, from pretiosus, from pretium; see price.

Webster Dictionary(0.00 / 0 votes)Rate this definition:

1. Preciousadjective

   of great price; costly; as, a precious stone

   Etymology: [OF. precious, precius, precios, F. prcieux, L. pretiosus, fr. pretium price, worth, value. See Price.]

2. Preciousadjective

   of great value or worth; very valuable; highly esteemed; dear; beloved; as, precious recollections

   Etymology: [OF. precious, precius, precios, F. prcieux, L. pretiosus, fr. pretium price, worth, value. See Price.]

3. Preciousadjective

   particular; fastidious; overnice

   Etymology: [OF. precious, precius, precios, F. prcieux, L. pretiosus, fr. pretium price, worth, value. See Price.]

Freebase(0.00 / 0 votes)Rate this definition:

1. Precious

   Precious were a British girl group, comprising Louise Rose, Anya Lahiri, Sophie McDonnell, Kalli Clark-Sternberg and Jenny Frost. They first achieved fame as the UK's entry for the Eurovision Song Contest and went on to become a moderately popular act until the group disbanded in 2000.

Chambers 20th Century Dictionary(0.00 / 0 votes)Rate this definition:

1. Precious

   presh′us, adj. of great price or worth: costly: highly esteemed: worthless, contemptible (in irony): fastidious, overnice: (coll.) considerable: (B.) valuable because rare.—adv. (coll.) extremely.—n. Precios′ity, fastidiousness, affected overrefinement.—adv. Prec′iously.—ns. Prec′ious-met′al, a metal of great value, as gold or silver; Prec′iousness; Prec′ious-stone, a stone of value and beauty for ornamentation: a gem or jewel. [O. Fr. precios (Fr. précieux)—L. pretiosus—pretium, price.]

Suggested Resources(1.00 / 1 vote)Rate this definition:

1. precious

   Quotes by precious -- Explore a large variety of famous quotes made by precious on the Quotes.net website.

2. precious

   Song lyrics by precious -- Explore a large variety of song lyrics performed by precious on the Lyrics.com website.

British National Corpus

1. Adjectives Frequency

   Rank popularity for the word 'precious' in Adjectives Frequency: #717

How to pronounce precious?

1. Alex

   US English

   David

   US English

   Mark

   US English

   Daniel

   British

   Libby

   British

   Mia

   British

   Karen

   Australian

   Hayley

   Australian

   Natasha

   Australian

   Veena

   Indian

   Priya

   Indian

   Neerja

   Indian

   Zira

   US English

   Oliver

   British

   Wendy

   British

   Fred

   US English

   Tessa

   South African

How to say precious in sign language?

Numerology

1. Chaldean Numerology

   The numerical value of precious in Chaldean Numerology is: 8

2. Pythagorean Numerology

   The numerical value of precious in Pythagorean Numerology is: 7

Examples of precious in a Sentence

1. Police Chief Robert Luna:

   To take a precious child from home, throw her in a dumpster like a piece of trash, is something only a very heartless person would do.

2. William E. Channing:

   It is chiefly through books that we enjoy intercourse with superior minds, and these invaluable means of communication are in the reach of all. In the best books, great men talk to us, give us their most precious thoughts, and pour their souls into ours.

3. Peter Singer:

   $177 billion is a big pay cheque that the world is missing out on - about half a percentage point of GDP of these countries, we have to stop wasting the world's most precious economic and social asset and ensure children thrive.

4. Brittney Powell:

   It was not an easy road, but it was not one I would trade because now I realize how precious everything is— that you can’t take a healthy baby for granted.

5. Oscar Wilde:

   Ordinary riches can be stolen, real riches cannot. In your soul are infinitely precious things that cannot be taken from you.

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