precious

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.

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precious

Adjective

1. very costly or valuable: precious jewellery

2. loved and treasured

3. very affected in speech, manners, or behaviour

4. Informal worthless: nothing is too good for his precious dog

Adverb

Informal very: there's precious little to do in this town [Latin pretiosus valuable]

Thesaurus

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" cherished, treasured, 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" valued 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" cute 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" preciously 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"

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precious

adjective 1. valuable, expensive, rare, fine, choice, prized, dear, costly, high-priced, exquisite, invaluable, priceless, recherché, inestimable << OPPOSITE worthless

adjective 2. loved, valued, favourite, prized, dear, dearest, treasured, darling, beloved, adored, cherished, fave (informal) idolized, worth your or its weight in gold

adjective 3. affected, artificial, fastidious, twee Brit. (informal) chichi, overrefined, overnice

Translations

precious [ˈprɛʃəs] adj → precioso (= treasured); querido (= stylized); afectado

adv (col): precious little/few → muy poco/pocos;

your precious dog (ironic) → tu querido perro

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precious [ˈprɛʃəs] adj → précieux/euse

adv (inf);

precious little or few → fort peu;

your precious dog (ironic) → ton chien chéri, ton chéri chien

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precious [ˈprɛʃəs] adj → wertvoll, kostbar;

(pej) [person, writing] → geziert;

(ironic) (= damned); heiß geliebt, wundervoll

adv (inf);

precious little/few → herzlich wenig/wenige

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precious [ˈprɛʃəs] adj → prezioso/a

adv (col): precious little/few → ben poco/pochi;

your precious dog (ironic) → il suo amatissimo cane