PRECIOUS

adj. 1 dear, dearest, costly, expensive, high-priced, valuable, invaluable, prized, priceless, irreplaceable, Colloq pricey The entire cabinet was filled with precious jewels 2 esteemed, choice, cherished, beloved, idolized, adored, loved, valued, prized, revered, venerated, venerable, hallowed The church keeps its most precious relics in a special vault 3 precise, exquisite, overrefined, chichi, over-nice, studied, artificial, effete, affected, overdone, pretentious, euphuistic, alembicated, Colloq Brit twee, Slang US cutesy His style is characterized by somewhat precious language