Adjective

(er)

Of high cost; expensive.

a costly activity

a costly error

* {{quote-news

, year=2011 , date=October 15 , author=Michael Da Silva , title=Wigan 1 - 3 Bolton , work=BBC Sport citation , page= , passage=Individual mistakes proved costly for Wigan who, particularly after the half-time introduction of Hugo Rodallega, dominated for long periods.}}

Adjective

(en adjective)

Of high value or worth, or seemingly regarded as such.

* {{quote-magazine, date=2013-08-16, author=(Polly Toynbee)

, volume=189, issue=10, page=21, magazine=(The Guardian Weekly) , title= Britain's booming birthrate , passage=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.}}

Regarded with love or tenderness.

(pejorative) Treated with too much reverence.

(pejorative) Contrived to be cute or charming.

* {{quote-news, year=2012, date=May 24, author=Nathan Rabin, work=The Onion AV Club

, title= Film: Reviews: Men In Black 3 , passage=In the abstract, Stuhlbarg’s twinkly-eyed sidekick suggests Joe Pesci in Lethal Weapon 2 by way of late-period Robin Williams with an alien twist, but Stuhlbarg makes a character that easily could have come across as precious into a surprisingly palatable, even charming man.}}