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Glite Dictionary
preciosity

preciosity

1 9.9
A style that is too fussy and fancy in speech or writing
  • noun
  • /prɛˈsɪsɪti/
  • Literature
: preciosidad
  • The critic noted that the film's preciosity took away from its overall impact, making it feel overly polished and insincere.

Examples

  • Over-ascription of meaning is halfway to preciosity, and we need to keep our imprint light on the world.

    Academic text (2013)

  • Italy and Dubrovnik supplied other fineries and preciosities for the new class that rapidly developed expensive tastes.

    Academic text (1993)

  • "It even offends good taste, and the ideal of beauty was all too tempting a pretext for good taste, preciosity, prettiness, and sentimentality.

    Academic text (1994)

  • The author's preciosity in his writing made it difficult for some readers to connect with the story.

  • Her preciosity in taste was evident when she refused to eat anything that wasn't presented with artistic flair.

Synonyms

pretentiousness
vspreciosity
  • Offensive
2 7.7

Acting like you are more important or more educated than you really are

is about affected refinement of style and taste not impression or status
preciousness
vspreciosity
1 8.0

A quality of being too formal and showing off in style

is the same meaning but used as an alternate form
frilliness
vspreciosity
1 7.2

A lot of extra decoration that looks showy

focuses on refined, fastidious taste rather than just ornament or decoration
foppishness
vspreciosity
  • Offensive
1 9.9

A way of dressing and behaving that is very showy and vain

emphasizes refinement and affectation in taste rather than fashion alone

Antonyms

simplicity
36 1.7

Being easy to understand and not complicated

naturalness
2 3.9

Being genuine and not showing forced or fake feelings

How Affected

affectation
10 8.6
preciosity
  • Literature
1 9.9
refinement
12 5.9
simplicity
42 2.7
naturalness
2 3.9

Surface Forms

preciosity singular
preciosities plural

Morphology

preciosity = precious (transparent) = precious + ity

Formed by the regular adjective-to-noun derivation 'precious' + '-ity'; the meaning 'the quality of being precious/affectedly refined' follows productive English patterns, though the noun is somewhat literary/rare.

Etymology

Preciosity comes from the same root as precious, which means 'valuable'. Long ago in France the word préciosité described a showy, over-refined way of speaking and acting, so preciosity now means the quality of being 'too refined' or affected.