Precious
adj.kind, thoughtfulwarm
Meaning 1
Deeply valued or loved and deserving careful protection.
Reach for it when describing personal, cultural, or natural value that is not reducible to price
The archive protects precious letters written by the town's first nurses.
Choose between these
6- warm
when a person, place, or tradition is widely loved
not when It cannot naturally describe scarce time, water, or evidence.
- warm
when long-held affection is the main value
not when Cherished does not fit valuable evidence, material, or limited time.
- warm
when affection and deliberate safekeeping are visible
not when It usually describes something already possessed, not an ecosystem or public resource.
- professional
when usefulness or contribution is exceptionally great
not when Invaluable emphasizes utility and can miss emotional preciousness.
- formal
when loss could not be remedied with an equivalent
not when The claim is too strong if a substitute or restoration is possible.
- literary
when value cannot meaningfully be measured in money
not when It is an absolute and can sound sentimental without a clear relationship.
Meaning 2
Scarce enough that every available part matters.
Reach for it when describing limited time, space, or resources that must not be wasted
Clean water became precious during the long pump repair.
Choose between these
3- professional
rare
when low availability creates the value
not when Rarity alone does not make something useful or precious.
- professional
scarce
when demand exceeds limited supply
not when Scarce is neutral and lacks the call to value or protect the resource.
- formal
finite
when a hard limit makes conservation important
not when Everything finite is not necessarily scarce in the relevant context.
Said against
4- worthless
- commonplace
- abundant
- expendable
It naturally appears in
4- precious resource
The spring is a precious resource managed by all three villages.
- precious memory
The recording preserved a precious memory of their final rehearsal together.
- precious time
The clear checklist saved precious time during the evacuation.
- precious cargo
The crew secured its precious cargo of vaccines against the rough crossing.
Where this comes from
- wiktionary, English adjective sense: of great value or dearly loved opens in a new tab for meaning 1 · retrieved 2026-07-26
- wiktionary, English adjective sense: scarce and valuable opens in a new tab for meaning 2 · retrieved 2026-07-26
The definition and the example on this page are written here. The dictionaries above ground which meaning is being described, not the wording.