preciosity

[ presh-ee-os-i-tee ]

noun

, plural pre·ci·os·i·ties.

1. fastidious or carefully affected refinement, as in language, style, or taste.

preciosity

/ ˌprɛʃɪˈɒsɪtɪ /

noun

1. fastidiousness or affectation, esp in speech or manners

Word History and Origins

Origin of preciosity¹

1350–1400; Middle English preciousite < Middle French preciosite < Latin pretiōsitās. See precious, -ity

Example Sentences

Nudity and fashion become virtual emblems here, signaling the purity, fragility and preciosity of the subject.

From Los Angeles Times

Since 2016, after a brief retirement from moviemaking, he has found a new auteurist groove with modest resources, fast shoots, boundless energy and a striking lack of preciosity about the medium.

From New York Times

She flirts with preciosity, particularly in her overbearing use of Keaton.

From Washington Post

“Darkness Odyssey” doesn’t become boring, but it does become a willful exercise in preciosity, in artful effects.

From New York Times

At first, this kind of physicality is engaging, but soon a kind of preciosity sets in, as gamelike exercises are developed.

From New York Times