pre·cious
(prĕsh′əs)adj.
1. Of high cost or worth; valuable: precious jewels.
2. Highly esteemed; cherished: precious moments with the new baby.
3. Dear; beloved: a friend who is precious to me.
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).
[Middle English, from Old French precios, from Latin pretiōsus, from pretium, price; see per- in Indo-European roots.]
pre′cious·ly adv.
pre′cious·ness n.
American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
precious
(ˈprɛʃəs)adj
1. beloved; dear; cherished
2. very costly or valuable
3. held in high esteem, esp in moral or spiritual matters
4. very fastidious or affected, as in speech, manners, etc
5. informal worthless: you and your precious ideas!.
adv
informal (intensifier): there's precious little left.
[C13: from Old French precios, from Latin pretiōsus valuable, from pretium price, value]
ˈpreciously adv
ˈpreciousness n
Collins English Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged, 12th Edition 2014 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2014
pre•cious
(ˈprɛʃ əs)adj.
1. of high price or great value: precious metals.
2. highly esteemed for some nonmaterial quality: precious memories.
3. dear; beloved: a precious child.
4. designating a stone or crystal, esp. a diamond, ruby, sapphire, or emerald, valued as rare and beautiful, used in jewelry.
5. affectedly or excessively refined.
6. flagrant; gross: a precious fool.
n. 7. a dearly beloved person; darling.
adv. 8. extremely; very: We have precious little time.
[1250–1300; Middle English preciose (< Old French precios) < Latin pretiōsus costly, valuable =preti(um) price, value + -ōsus -ous]
pre′cious•ly, adv.
pre′cious•ness, n.
Random House Kernerman Webster's College Dictionary, © 2010 K Dictionaries Ltd. Copyright 2005, 1997, 1991 by Random House, Inc. All rights reserved.
ThesaurusAntonymsRelated WordsSynonymsLegend:
| Adj. | 1. |  precious - characterized by feeling or showing fond affection for; "a cherished friend"; "children are precious"; "a treasured heirloom"; "so good to feel wanted"loved - held dear; "his loved companion of many years" |
| 2. | precious - of high worth or cost; "diamonds, sapphires, rubies, and emeralds are precious stones" valuable - having great material or monetary value especially for use or exchange; "a valuable diamond" | |
| 3. | precious - held in great esteem for admirable qualities especially of an intrinsic nature; "a valued friend"; "precious memories" worthy - having worth or merit or value; being honorable or admirable; "a worthy fellow"; "a worthy cause" | |
| 4. | precious - obviously contrived to charm; "an insufferably precious performance"; "a child with intolerably cute mannerisms" artful - marked by skill in achieving a desired end especially with cunning or craft; "the artful dodger"; "an artful choice of metaphors" | |
| Adv. | 1. | precious - extremely; "there is precious little time left" 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" |
Based on WordNet 3.0, Farlex clipart collection. © 2003-2012 Princeton University, Farlex Inc.
precious
adjective
1. valuable, expensive, rare, fine, choice, prized, dear, costly, high-priced, exquisite, invaluable, priceless, recherché, inestimable jewellery and precious objects belonging to her mother
valuable cheap, worthless, rubbishy, trashy, a dime a dozen, nickel-and-dime (U.S. slang), paltry, two a penny (informal), valueless
valuable cheap, worthless, rubbishy, trashy, a dime a dozen, nickel-and-dime (U.S. slang), paltry, two a penny (informal), valueless
2. loved, valued, favourite, prized, dear, dearest, treasured, darling, beloved, adored, cherished, fave (informal), idolized, worth your or its weight in gold her most precious possession
3. affected, artificial, fastidious, twee (Brit. informal), chichi, overrefined, overnice Actors, he decided, were all precious and neurotic.
Collins Thesaurus of the English Language – Complete and Unabridged 2nd Edition. 2002 © HarperCollins Publishers 1995, 2002
precious
adjective1. Of great value:
Idioms: beyond price, of great price.
3. Artificially genteel:
Informal: la-di-da.
The American Heritage® Roget's Thesaurus. Copyright © 2013, 2014 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
Translations
ثَميننَفِيس
cennýdrahocenný
dyrebarkostbar
arvokaskallisarvoinen
dragocjen
becsesdrágaértékes
dÿrmætur
貴重な
소중한
brangusis metalas
dārgsvērtīgs
dragdragocen
dyrbar
ล้ำค่า
çok değerlideğerli
quý
precious
[ˈpreʃəs]A. ADJ
1. (= costly) [jewel, stone] → precioso; [commodity, resource] → preciado; [possession] → muy valioso
we're wasting precious time → estamos desperdiciando un tiempo precioso
we're wasting precious time → estamos desperdiciando un tiempo precioso
2. (= treasured) → preciado
she savoured the precious moments they spent together → saboreó esos momentos preciados que pasaron juntos
her friendship is very precious to me → aprecio or valoro mucho su amistad
the book is very precious to me → para mí el libro tiene gran valor
she savoured the precious moments they spent together → saboreó esos momentos preciados que pasaron juntos
her friendship is very precious to me → aprecio or valoro mucho su amistad
the book is very precious to me → para mí el libro tiene gran valor
3. (= artificial, affected) [person] → preciosista, afectado; [style] → rebuscado
4. (iro) I couldn't care less about your precious golf clubs → me traen sin cuidado tus queridos palos de golf (iro)
B. ADV precious little/few → bien poco/pocos
precious little has been gained → se ha logrado muy poco
precious little has been gained → se ha logrado muy poco
C. N (my) precious! (o.f.) → ¡querida!
Collins Spanish Dictionary - Complete and Unabridged 8th Edition 2005 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1971, 1988 © HarperCollins Publishers 1992, 1993, 1996, 1997, 2000, 2003, 2005
precious
[ˈprɛʃəs] adj
(= valuable) [resource, object, jewels] → précieux/euse
[friend, gift, possession, moment] → précieux/euse
precious time → un temps précieux
This wastes precious time → Cela fait perdre un temps précieux.
time is precious → le temps est précieux
to be precious to sb → être précieux à qn
To me our friendship is a very precious thing → Notre amitié m'est très précieuse.
My life is more precious to me than my property → Ma vie m'est plus précieuse que mes biens.
precious time → un temps précieux
This wastes precious time → Cela fait perdre un temps précieux.
time is precious → le temps est précieux
to be precious to sb → être précieux à qn
To me our friendship is a very precious thing → Notre amitié m'est très précieuse.
My life is more precious to me than my property → Ma vie m'est plus précieuse que mes biens.
(= affected) → précieux/euse
adv
precious few → fort peu
to have precious few ... → n'avoir que fort peu de ...
We've had precious few days off over the last six months → Nous n'avons eu que fort peu de jours de congé ces six derniers mois.
precious little → fort peu
There was precious little evidence → Il n'y avait que fort peu d'indices.precious metal n → métal m précieuxprecious stone n → pierre f précieuse
precious few → fort peu
to have precious few ... → n'avoir que fort peu de ...
We've had precious few days off over the last six months → Nous n'avons eu que fort peu de jours de congé ces six derniers mois.
precious little → fort peu
There was precious little evidence → Il n'y avait que fort peu d'indices.precious metal n → métal m précieuxprecious stone n → pierre f précieuse
Collins English/French Electronic Resource. © HarperCollins Publishers 2005
precious
adj
(= treasured) → wertvoll; (iro) → hochverehrt, heiß geliebt; my precious (one)! → mein Schatz!; I have very precious memories of that time/of him → ich habe Erinnerungen an diese Zeit/an ihn, die mir sehr wertvoll or teuer (geh) → sind; the loss of our precious daughter → der Verlust unserer heiß geliebten Tochter
(pej: = mannered, affected) language, humour etc → pretiös, preziös; person → geziert, geschraubt; style → geziert, gekünstelt
Collins German Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged 7th Edition 2005. © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1980 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1997, 1999, 2004, 2005, 2007
precious
[ˈprɛʃəs]2. adv (fam) precious little/few → ben poco/pochi
Collins Italian Dictionary 1st Edition © HarperCollins Publishers 1995
precious
(ˈpreʃəs) adjective of great value. precious jewels.
precious metal a valuable metal such as gold, silver or platinum.
precious stone a jewel; a gem. diamonds, emeralds and other precious stones.
precious few/little very few/little. I've precious little money left.
Kernerman English Multilingual Dictionary © 2006-2013 K Dictionaries Ltd.
precious
→ نَفِيس cenný dyrebar kostbar πολύτιμος precioso arvokas précieux dragocjen prezioso 貴重な 소중한 kostbaar verdifull cenny precioso драгоценный dyrbar ล้ำค่า değerli quý 宝贵的Multilingual Translator © HarperCollins Publishers 2009