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 WebAllen Farmelo, Robb Report, 19 Apr. 2024
Those precious extra hours of sleep came courtesy of Shortcuts, a free app that has come preinstalled on iPhones since 2019.
—Chris Velazco, Washington Post, 18 Apr. 2024
And at a time when droughts are becoming more common, rain is a precious commodity with geopolitical import.
—Marina Koren, The Atlantic, 18 Apr. 2024
Some of the world’s largest and most precious reefs are being hit the hardest.
—Christian Thorsberg, Smithsonian Magazine, 17 Apr. 2024
And, as all four Champions League quarterfinals this week proved rather neatly, at this rarefied level, there is precious little qualitative difference between the players who make up the teams.
—Rory Smith, New York Times, 12 Apr. 2024
Like the gold bars, the coins are only available on the company’s website—and introducing precious metals to its online offerings has been a boon for e-commerce.
—Chris Morris, Fortune, 10 Apr. 2024
Thousands of precious antiquities disappeared from Cambodia during decades of war and strife.
—Defne Karabatur, Los Angeles Times, 6 Apr. 2024
The unabashed 48 mm case is made of the Swiss watchmaker’s reddish King Gold alloy and set with some 248 precious stones.
—Rachel Cormack, Robb Report, 6 Apr. 2024
Adjective
Thanks to all that precious metal and hand finishing, the watch comes in at $55,900.
—Allen Farmelo, Robb Report, 19 Apr. 2024
Those precious extra hours of sleep came courtesy of Shortcuts, a free app that has come preinstalled on iPhones since 2019.
—Chris Velazco, Washington Post, 18 Apr. 2024
And at a time when droughts are becoming more common, rain is a precious commodity with geopolitical import.
—Marina Koren, The Atlantic, 18 Apr. 2024
Some of the world’s largest and most precious reefs are being hit the hardest.
—Christian Thorsberg, Smithsonian Magazine, 17 Apr. 2024
And, as all four Champions League quarterfinals this week proved rather neatly, at this rarefied level, there is precious little qualitative difference between the players who make up the teams.
—Rory Smith, New York Times, 12 Apr. 2024
Like the gold bars, the coins are only available on the company’s website—and introducing precious metals to its online offerings has been a boon for e-commerce.
—Chris Morris, Fortune, 10 Apr. 2024
Thousands of precious antiquities disappeared from Cambodia during decades of war and strife.
—Defne Karabatur, Los Angeles Times, 6 Apr. 2024
The unabashed 48 mm case is made of the Swiss watchmaker’s reddish King Gold alloy and set with some 248 precious stones.
—Rachel Cormack, Robb Report, 6 Apr. 2024
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 23 Apr. 2024.
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