preciousness
preciousness Lexical Profile
preciousness Game Scores & Validity
• noun
The state or quality of being of great value, highly cherished, or dearly loved.
"The sudden illness made the entire family acutely aware of the preciousness of their time together."
Excessive or affected refinement, delicacy, or fastidiousness in language, art, or behavior.
"Critics praised the novel's emotional honesty and complete lack of stylistic preciousness."
Word Nuance & Usage
While often used positively to mean high value or cherishability, in art and literary criticism 'preciousness' (alongside 'preciosity') frequently carries a derogatory sense of affected, overly delicate, or self-conscious refinement.
• Nearby Words
Word Origin & Etymology
Formed in Middle English from the adjective 'precious' (from Old French 'precios', ultimately from Latin 'pretiosus' meaning 'costly, valuable', derived from 'pretium' meaning 'price') combined with the native English suffix '-ness'.
Usage Trend
Historical frequency of usage in published text.