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

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precious

adj precious [ˈpreʃəs]

of great value precious jewels. waardevol ثَمين скъпоценен drahocenný kostbar kostbar πολύτιμος precioso väärtuslik گرانبها arvokas précieux יָקָר मूल्यवान dragocjen értékes tak ternilai, sangat berharga dÿrmætur prezioso 高価な 값비싼 brangus dārgs; vērtīgs sangat berharga kostbaar kostbar, verdifull; elsket (drogo)cenny precioso preţios драгоценный drahocenný dragocen dragocen dyrbar, värdefull ล้ำค่า çok değerli 寶貴的 дорогоцінний, коштовний قيمتي quý giá 宝贵的

precious metal

a valuable metal such as gold, silver or platinum. edelmetaal مَعْدَن ثمين ценен метал drahý kov ædelmetal das Edelmetall πολύτιμο μέταλλο metal precioso väärismetall فلزات قیمتی jalometalli métal précieux מַתֶכֶת יְקָרָה बहुमूल्य धातु plemenite kovine nemesfém logam mulia dÿrmætur metallo prezioso 貴金属 귀금속 brangusis metalas dārgmetāls logam berharga edel metaal edelt metall metal szlachetny metal precioso metal preţios благородный металл drahý kov plemenita kovina plemeniti metal ädelmetall โลหะมีค่า değerli maden 貴金屬 благородний метал قيمتي دھات kim loại quý 贵金属

precious stone

a jewel; a gem diamonds, emeralds and other precious stones. edelsteen حِجار كَريمَه скъпоценен камък drahokam ædelsten der Edelstein πολύτιμος λίθος, πετράδι piedra preciosa vääriskivi سنگ قیمتی jalokivi pierre précieuse אֶבֶן יְקָרה बहुमूल्य पत्थर dragi kamen drágakő batu mulia gimsteinn pietra preziosa 宝石 보석 brangakmenis dārgakmens batu permata edelsteen edelstein kamień szlachetny pedra preciosa piatră preţioasă драгоценный камень drahokam drag kamen drago kamenje ädelsten เพชรพลอย değerli taş 寶石 коштовний камінь قيمتي پتھر đá quý 宝石

precious few/little

very few/little I've precious little money left. bitter min قَليل много малко strašně málo næsten ingen äußerst wenig ελάχιστος muy poco ülivähe بسیار کم hyvin vähän bien/fort peu (de) קוֹמֶץ थोड़े से अनमोल या बहुमूल्य vrlo malo édeskevés sedikit sára fáir, afar lítill pochissimo ほんの少し 아주 조금, 거의 ...없다 labai nedaug ļoti maz; ārkārtīgi nedaudz sgt sedikit bar weinig svært få/lite bardzo niewiele muito pouco foarte puţin очень мало strašne málo / veľa vražje malo veoma malo fasligt få/lite น้อยมาก çok az 極少 дуже мало بہت تھوڑا cực kỳ 极少