Preciously

pre·cious  (prshs)

adj.

1. Of high cost or worth; valuable.

2. Highly esteemed; cherished.

3. Dear; beloved.

4. Affectedly dainty or overrefined: precious mannerisms.

5. Informal Thoroughgoing; unmitigated: a precious mess.

n.

One who is dear or beloved; a darling.

adv.

Used as an intensive: "He had precious little right to complain" (James Agee).

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[Middle English, from Old French precios, from Latin pretisus, from pretium, price; see per-⁵ in Indo-European roots.]

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precious·ly adv.

precious·ness n.

Thesaurus

Adv.

1.

preciously - extremely; "there is precious little time left" precious intensifier, intensive - a modifier that has little meaning except to intensify the meaning it modifies; "`up' in `finished up' is an intensifier"; "`honestly' in `I honestly don't know' is an intensifier"