1
: of great value or high price
precious jewels
2
: highly esteemed or cherished
a precious friend
3
: excessively refined : affected entry 2
precious manners
4
: great, thoroughgoing
a precious scoundrel
preciousness
noun
Synonyms
Examples of precious in a Sentence
Adjective
That so many of China's cleverest and most creative men and women had to sell their books and their most precious carvings and family seals to keep themselves alive, while corpulent nationalists and their friends dined well in local banquet halls, gave them some right to schadenfreude.
—
Simon Winchester, The Man Who Loved China, 2008
Of course, the war pronounces on us all. Some precious glee we seek is absent, the season less substantial, less likeable.
—Richard Ford, Wall Street Journal, 14-15 June 2008
The world is, as usual, a frightening place to enter for all save the precious few impaired by inherited security.
—David Mamet, True and False, 1997
… and, though to him those precious moments at the end of each day had symbolized the realization of his every hope, to her they had meant not a goddamn thing.
—Philip Roth, American Pastoral, 1997
diamonds and other precious stones
We can save precious time by taking this shortcut.
They were able to be together for only a few precious hours.
the family's most precious moments
Adverb
She had precious little to say.
There are precious few hours of sunlight left.
Simon Winchester, The Man Who Loved China, 2008
Of course, the war pronounces on us all. Some precious glee we seek is absent, the season less substantial, less likeable.
—Richard Ford, Wall Street Journal, 14-15 June 2008
The world is, as usual, a frightening place to enter for all save the precious few impaired by inherited security.
—David Mamet, True and False, 1997
… and, though to him those precious moments at the end of each day had symbolized the realization of his every hope, to her they had meant not a goddamn thing.
—Philip Roth, American Pastoral, 1997
diamonds and other precious stones
We can save precious time by taking this shortcut.
They were able to be together for only a few precious hours.
the family's most precious moments
Adverb
She had precious little to say.
There are precious few hours of sunlight left.
Recent Examples on the WebGil Kaufman, Billboard, 14 May 2024
Her work had a kind of purity, never cheating or hiding how life really is, all while looking at the world with extreme honesty – and that’s a very precious thing.
—Ben Croll, Variety, 14 May 2024
See all Example Sentences for precious 
Adjective
Fallon put up a pic of the now iconic squeeze Swift laid on Kelce on the field, with Wie West saying that the precious moment was all thanks to the Super Bowl champ star tight end.
—Gil Kaufman, Billboard, 14 May 2024
Her work had a kind of purity, never cheating or hiding how life really is, all while looking at the world with extreme honesty – and that’s a very precious thing.
—Ben Croll, Variety, 14 May 2024
See all Example Sentences for precious
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'precious.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Dictionary Entries Near precious
Cite this Entry
“Precious.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/precious. Accessed 17 May. 2024.
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