Preciosity

Preciosity
Preciosity Pre`ci*os"i*ty, n.; pl. {-ties}. [F. pr['e]ciosit['e], OF. also precieuset['e].] Fastidious refinement, esp. in language; specif., the affected purism and sententiousness characteristic of the French pr['e]cieuses of the 17th century.

He had the fastidiousness, the preciosity, the love of archaisms, of your true decadent. --L. Douglas. [Webster 1913 Suppl.]


The Collaborative International Dictionary of English. 2000.

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  • preciosity — preciosity, preciousness Preciosity is now virtually restricted to the meaning ‘over refinement in art or language, especially in the choice of words’, leaving preciousness as the noun corresponding to the general meanings of precious …   Modern English usage

  • Preciosity — Pre ci*os i*ty, n. Preciousness; something precious. [Obs.] Sir T. Browne. [1913 Webster] …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • preciosity — index bombast Burton s Legal Thesaurus. William C. Burton. 2006 …   Law dictionary

  • preciosity — [presh΄ē äs′ə tē, pres΄ēäs′ə tē] n. pl. preciosities [ME preciousite < MFr preciosité < L pretiositas < pretiosus: see PRECIOUS] great fastidiousness, overrefinement, or affectation, esp. in language …   English World dictionary

  • preciosity — noun (plural ties) Date: 1866 1. fastidious refinement 2. an instance of preciosity …   New Collegiate Dictionary

  • preciosity — /presh ee os i tee/, n., pl. preciosities. fastidious or carefully affected refinement, as in language, style, or taste. [1350 1400; ME preciousite < MF preciosite < L pretiositas. See PRECIOUS, ITY] * * * ▪ literature French  Préciosité,  … …   Universalium

  • preciosity — noun A state or condition of overemphasizing detail, especially of pronunciation when speaking. Syn: fastidiousness See Also: precise, precision …   Wiktionary

  • preciosity — Synonyms and related words: Gongorism, affectation, affectedness, artfulness, artifice, artificiality, ceremonialism, elegance, euphemism, euphuism, exquisiteness, formalism, formality, goody goodness, goody goodyism, hyperelegance, legalism,… …   Moby Thesaurus

  • preciosity — pre|ci|os|i|ty [ ,preʃi asəti ] noun uncount MAINLY LITERARY too much emphasis on style or detail in language or writing …   Usage of the words and phrases in modern English

  • preciosity — pre·ci·os·i·ty || ‚preʃɪ É‘sÉ™tɪ / É’s n. meticulousness, stringency; affectedness, overrefinement; excessive fastidiousness, extreme fussiness …   English contemporary dictionary

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