prizing

1. 1
   verb

   Present participle and gerund of prize.

   Critics accused the gallery of prizing celebrity over real artistic merit.

   Prizing accuracy above speed, the surveyor rechecked every single measurement.

   Note

   One spelling carries two quite different verbs. Beside the familiar sense of valuing (prizing accuracy, prizing loyalty) stands the lever verb, a variant of prise or pry: prizing a lid off, prizing a door open. The object and any particle tell them apart. Open, off or up signals force, while an abstract quality or a person signals esteem.

2. 2
   noununcountable

   The act or state of holding something in high esteem and valuing it greatly.

   The philosopher examined the prizing of personal autonomy in modern Western thought.

   Their prizing of ancient ritual set them apart from neighboring communities.

   Similarcherishing, appreciation

   Oppositedisdain

   Note

   Philosophy uses the word for valuing as an act or attitude, rather than for the worth a thing has: prizing is something a person does. It usually takes of, as in the prizing of autonomy. Unlike many abstract nouns, it can be counted, with prizings for distinct acts of valuing. Outside philosophy, esteem or valuing is the more natural choice.

3. 3
   verbobsolete

   The practice of competing in public bare-knuckle boxing matches fought for a money prize.

   His father had grown rich from prizing before the sport was outlawed.

   She forbade her sons from prizing, fearing the broken bones it so often brought.

   Note

   An obsolete clipping of prizefighting, so it turns up only in older writing. It looks exactly like the participle meaning "valuing", and a phrase such as "he gave up prizing" can be misread. In historical prose, check whether fighting is meant. In anything written today, use prizefighting in full.

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