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
Synonyms
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 WebKansas City Star, 7 June 2024
Much of that inventory, though, is ending up in the same few places: along the coasts and in the nation’s busiest auto markets, leaving would-be EV buyers in other regions with precious few options.
—Bloomberg, Orange County Register, 31 May 2024
The weekend is here and, with it, our weekly digest of the weekend sales worth your precious free time.
—Nicola Fumo, Peoplemag, 31 May 2024
Rhodium, for instance, currently goes for $4,750 a troy ounce, the measurement for precious metals, or about twice the cost of gold, according to Trading Economics, a website that tracks economic indicators.
—Alex Stone, ABC News, 29 May 2024
See all Example Sentences for precious 
Adjective
The Company anticipates continued expansion of our efforts domestically and abroad, with a particularly keen focus on mining technologies for precious metals and rare earth minerals, as well as other innovative technologies.
—Kansas City Star, 7 June 2024
Much of that inventory, though, is ending up in the same few places: along the coasts and in the nation’s busiest auto markets, leaving would-be EV buyers in other regions with precious few options.
—Bloomberg, Orange County Register, 31 May 2024
The weekend is here and, with it, our weekly digest of the weekend sales worth your precious free time.
—Nicola Fumo, Peoplemag, 31 May 2024
Rhodium, for instance, currently goes for $4,750 a troy ounce, the measurement for precious metals, or about twice the cost of gold, according to Trading Economics, a website that tracks economic indicators.
—Alex Stone, ABC News, 29 May 2024
See all Example Sentences for precious
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'precious.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Dictionary Entries Near precious
Cite this Entry
“Precious.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/precious. Accessed 10 Jun. 2024.
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