precious

Pluralpreciouses

1. 1
   adjective

   Worth a lot of money, or hard to replace.

   Like a treasure you would never want to lose.

   She keeps her precious jewelry locked in a safe.

   Clean water is precious in the desert.

   Similarvaluable, priceless, invaluable, prized, treasured

   Oppositeworthless, cheap, valueless

   Note
2. 2
   adjective

   Loved very much and treated with great care.

   Like something you hold close to your heart.

   Her children are precious to her.

   He kept a precious photo of his late wife.

   Similarcherished, treasured, dear, beloved, prized

3. 3
   nouncountable

   A person or thing that is loved very much.

   Like a sweet name you give to someone you love.

   Come here, my precious, and let me give you a hug.

   The puppy is her little precious.

   Similardarling, sweetheart, treasure, angel, love

   Note
4. 4
   adjectivederogatory

   Trying too hard to seem cute or charming.

   Like a smile that looks fake because someone is trying too hard.

   The movie's dialogue felt precious and fake.

   His precious little speech annoyed everyone in the room.

   Similartwee, cutesy, affected, contrived, mannered

   Note
5. 5
   adjectivederogatory

   Treated with more respect than it really deserves.

   Like treating an old chair as too special to ever sit on.

   The original recipe is treated as too precious to ever change.

   To longtime members, the club's old rituals are precious and never questioned.

   Similarsacrosanct, sacred, untouchable, hallowed

   Note
6. 6
   adjectivecolloquial

   Very protective or strict about something.

   Like a kid who won't let anyone touch a favorite toy.

   She's very precious about her record collection.

   Don't be so precious about lending out your tools.

   Similarprotective, possessive, fussy, particular

   Oppositerelaxed, easygoing, casual

   Note
7. 7
   adverb

   Very, used mostly to make 'little' or 'few' stronger.

   There was precious little food left after the storm.

   We had precious few choices to pick from.

   Similarvery

   Note
8. 8
   adjectivecolloquial

   Complete and total, often used to make a mess sound worse.

   You've made a precious mess of the kitchen.

   The whole plan was a precious muddle from start to finish.

   Similarcomplete, total, utter, right, proper

9. 9
   adjectiveironic

   Too fancy and complicated in the way it is written.

   Like decorating a cake so much that you can't taste it.

   The article's precious style made it hard to follow.

   Her precious prose used long words where simple ones would do.

   Similaraffected, mannered, pretentious, overwrought, florid

   Oppositeplain, simple, unaffected, natural

   Note
10. 10
    adjectivederogatorycolloquial

    Used before a noun to show that you are annoyed about something.

    I can't find my keys in this precious bag.

    Turn off that precious phone and listen to me.

    Similarblasted, wretched, darned, confounded, blessed

    Note

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