precious

prezioso

Che vale molto denaro oppure è molto utile e importante.

In inglese semplice: Worth a lot of money, or very useful and important.

• Gold is a precious metal.
• Do not waste precious water.
• The delay cost us precious time.

Sinonimi: valuable

Contrari: worthless

Espressioni comuni: precious metal, precious stones, precious time

caro, prezioso

Molto importante per qualcuno per l’amore o l’affetto che prova.

In inglese semplice: Very dear to someone because they love or care about it.

• That photo is precious to me.
• We shared some precious moments together.
• She kept every precious letter from her father.

Come si usa: precious to someone (These memories are precious to us.)

Sinonimi: dear, cherished, beloved

Espressioni comuni: precious memories, precious moments, precious to someone

geloso, suscettibile

Che non accetta cambiamenti o critiche a qualcosa a cui tiene, spesso in modo esagerato.

In inglese semplice: Unwilling to let others change or criticize something you care about, often more than seems reasonable.

• He is precious about his recipes.
• Do not be too precious about your first draft.
• She became less precious about her work over time.

Come si usa: precious about something (The designer is very precious about her drawings.)

Sinonimi: overprotective, possessive

Espressioni comuni: precious about something, too precious, rather precious

vero, autentico

Rafforza una descrizione negativa, indicando che si applica completamente.

In inglese semplice: Complete or total, used to give extra force to a negative description.

• You are a precious fool!
• That precious rascal has taken my hat again.
• What precious nonsense he talks!

Sinonimi: complete, utter

Espressioni comuni: precious fool, precious rascal, precious nonsense

molto, estremamente

Intensifica una qualità; spesso precede parole che indicano scarsità, sottolineando quanto poco ci sia.

In inglese semplice: Very; often used before words meaning a small amount to stress how little there is.

• We have precious little time.
• Precious few people knew the answer.
• There was precious little left to eat.

Sinonimi: very, extremely

Espressioni comuni: precious little, precious few