precious

/ˈpɹɛʃ.əs/

//ˈpɹɛʃ.əs// adj

By · According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA) ·

"precious" is a 8-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“precious” has 11 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #4,104. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#4,104
frequency rank, English
4,417
“P” headwords
11
tracked misspellings
3
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - Of high value or worth.

Corpus desk

Index EN-precious · precious · English

precious · rank #4,104 · 11 variants · 3 confusables

  • FREQ-COMMON #4,104
  • LEN-LONG 8 letters
  • VOW-4 4 vowels
  • CONFUS-LOW 3 pairs
  • VAR-MID 11 variants
  • BOOK-MID 4,417
  • PHOTO-FINISH pregnancy

Nearest frequency peer: pregnancy (+1 rank slots)

Read with this headword: Spelling guide for this pattern

Desk codes from Wiktionary headword shape, FrequencyWords rank tier, confusable-pair count, generated misspelling depth, letter-cohort book size, and photo-finish peer. Not a difficulty grade.

Rank peers near misspelling magnet “precious”

Same rarity band: useful when a typo lands on a peer headword

corpus weight

What this shows “precious” sits among these FrequencyWords peers; misspelling depth is tracked separately in the edit-distance chart.

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026

Visual similarity to commonly confused words

How many letter changes separate each confused pair (Levenshtein distance, normalized).

precious vs previous
88% similar
precious vs precocious
80% similar
precious vs precarious
80% similar

Source: PlainSpell confusable corpus (Wiktionary, CC BY-SA).

Key facts for precious
PropertyValue
Headwordprecious
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechAdjective
IPA/ˈpɹɛʃ.əs/
Letters8
Frequency rank#4,104
Misspellings tracked11
Confusable pairs3
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency seat of misspelling magnet “precious”

This scale runs from the tiny cluster of words that carry ordinary speech (left) to the long tail of words almost nobody reaches for (right).preciouslands here:

#1#100#1K#10K#100K
← used constantlyrarely used →

Ticks step logarithmically, so each one marks a roughly tenfold drop in how often the word turns up. Same rarity band neighbours include “pregnancy” (#4,105), “participation” (#4,102), “premium” (#4,106). Among 4,417 “P” headwords, “precious” is #4,104. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 11 spelling variants around precious (IPA /ˈpɹɛʃ.əs/), anadjective. Corpus frequency is #4,104 among 4,417 “P” headwords. Wiktionary lists 8 senses, so context still picks the gloss.

Our generated misspelling index lists 11 likely wrong-spelling variants for precious, with forms such as "percious", "pprecious", and "prceious". Each of these forms differs from the correct spelling by one small edit: a doubled letter, a dropped silent letter, or a substituted vowel. It also participates in 3 confusable-pair relationships, "previous", "precocious", "precarious", a pairing that trips writers up because the two words share enough sound or shape to blur together.

Etymologically, the entry records: From Middle English precious, borrowed from Old French precios (“valuable, costly, precious, beloved, also affected, finical”), from Latin pretiōsus (“of great value, costly, dear, precious”), from pretium (“value, price”); see price. The correct English form is precious, spelled P-R-E-C-I-O-U-S.

Definition

  1. 1
    Of high value or worth.
  2. 2
    Regarded with love or tenderness.
  3. 3
    Treated with too much reverence.
  4. 4
    Excessively complicated.
  5. 5
    Extremely protective or strict (about something).
  6. 6
    Blasted; damned.
  7. 7
    Contrived to be cute or charming.
  8. 8
    Thorough; utter.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

These source excerpts show how precious appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.

  1. People are a good thing, the most precious resource in a rich economy, so the progressive-minded feel. Only misanthropists disagree or the dottier Malthusians who send green-ink tweets deploring any state assistance for child-rearing.
  2. The crown had many precious gemstones. This building work needs site access, and tell the city council that I don't care about a few lorry tyre ruts across their precious grass verge.

Etymology

From Middle English precious, borrowed from Old French precios (“valuable, costly, precious, beloved, also affected, finical”), from Latin pretiōsus (“of great value, costly, dear, precious”), from pretium (“value, price”); see price.

Synonyms

dearvaluablesaccharinesyrupytwee

This word in other languages

precioso(Español)précieux(Français)kostbar(Deutsch)precioso(Português)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • percious
  • pprecious
  • prceious
  • preccious
  • preciosu
  • preciouss
  • preciuos
  • precoius
  • preicous
  • prrecious
  • rpecious

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of precious - expressed in single-character edits (insert, delete, or swap one letter). Bigger bars stand out at a glance; a one-edit slip is the hardest to catch.

percious2pprecious1prceious2preccious1preciosu2preciouss1preciuos2precoius2
Edit distance from "precious"

Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA); frequency ordering uses the FrequencyWords open word-frequency list (2018 English corpus, MIT). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "precious"?
"precious" is spelled P-R-E-C-I-O-U-S. The IPA pronunciation is /ˈpɹɛʃ.əs/.
What does "precious" mean?
As an adjective, "precious" means: Of high value or worth.
What words are commonly confused with "precious"?
"precious" is commonly confused with "previous", "precocious", "precarious". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "precious"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "precious" is /ˈpɹɛʃ.əs/. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What is the origin of the word "precious"?
From Middle English precious, borrowed from Old French precios (“valuable, costly, precious, beloved, also affected, finical”), from Latin pretiōsus (“of great value, costly, dear, precious”), from pretium (“value, price”); see price. See the full etymology section above for more details.
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Yes, PlainSpell is a completely free word reference. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, confusable pairs, homophones, and spelling corrections across 5 languages without any sign-up or subscription.

Similar English words by spelling shape

Same letter count and similar misspelling depth for "precious", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 8 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

guidance#4,091expenses#4,083dropping#4,079wildlife#4,132

Similar misspelling depth

Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (11 here; floor ≥5).

pretend11 variantsgreatly11 variantssatellite11 variantsdensity11 variants

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list