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
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 Web
Dan Irvine, Forbes.com, 30 Apr. 2025
When a curious 6-year-old met a playful dolphin, their precious connection created pure magic.
—Ronnie Li, USA Today, 30 Apr. 2025
Some Vril and Agartha heads are despairing about the way their precious dogwhistles have leaked beyond the realm of looksmaxxing forums and 4chan to hit critical mass.
—Kieran Press-Reynolds, Pitchfork, 30 Apr. 2025
The precious metal slid 0.33% as of 9.15 a.m. Singapore time on Monday to trade at $3,330.87 per ounce, as investors kept watch on developments around trade negotiations between the U.S. and China.
—Jenni Reid, CNBC, 29 Apr. 2025
See All Example Sentences for precious
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.
Read More
Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
Send us feedback.
Adjective
Rallying since November 2024, the precious metal peaked at just over $3,500 on April 22.
—Dan Irvine, Forbes.com, 30 Apr. 2025
When a curious 6-year-old met a playful dolphin, their precious connection created pure magic.
—Ronnie Li, USA Today, 30 Apr. 2025
Some Vril and Agartha heads are despairing about the way their precious dogwhistles have leaked beyond the realm of looksmaxxing forums and 4chan to hit critical mass.
—Kieran Press-Reynolds, Pitchfork, 30 Apr. 2025
The precious metal slid 0.33% as of 9.15 a.m. Singapore time on Monday to trade at $3,330.87 per ounce, as investors kept watch on developments around trade negotiations between the U.S. and China.
—Jenni Reid, CNBC, 29 Apr. 2025
See All Example Sentences for precious
Cite this Entry
“Precious.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/precious. Accessed 11 May. 2025.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share