precise

(prĭ-sīs')
adj.

1. Clearly expressed or delineated; definite: The victim gave a precise description of the suspect.
2. Exact, as in performance, execution, or amount; accurate or correct: a precise measurement; a precise instrument.
3. Strictly distinguished from others; very: at that precise moment.
4. Distinct and correct in sound or meaning: precise pronunciation; precise prose.
5. Conforming strictly to rule or proper form: "The setting up of this Maypole was a lamentable spectacle to the precise separatists that lived at New Plymouth" (Thomas Morton).

[Middle English, exact, from Old French precis, condensed, precisely fixed, from Latin praecīsus, past participle of praecīdere, to shorten : prae-, pre- + caedere, to cut.]

preciseness pre·cise'ness n.

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Both words have the same general meaning 'the condition of being precise, accuracy', but precision is the more natural choice and is used in attributive position (before other nouns) as in precision bombing, precision timing, etc.

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adjective

1. Clearly, fully, and sometimes emphatically expressed: categorical, clear, clear-cut, decided, definite, explicit, express, positive, specific, unambiguous, unequivocal. See clear/unclear.
2. Having no errors: accurate, correct, errorless, exact, right, rigorous. See correct/incorrect, true/false.
3. Conforming to fact: accurate, correct, exact, faithful, right, rigorous, true, veracious, veridical. See correct/incorrect, honest/dishonest, real/imaginary, true/false.
4. Strictly distinguished from others: exact, very. See precise/imprecise.
5. Marked by excessive concern for propriety and good form: bluenosed, genteel, old-maidish, priggish, prim, prissy, proper, prudish, puritanical, strait-laced, stuffy, Victorian. Idioms: prim and proper. See plain/fancy.

adj

Definition: exact, accurate
Antonyms: ambiguous, false, imprecise, inaccurate, inexact, questionable

adj

Definition: meticulous, fastidious
Antonyms: careless, imprecise, inaccurate, loose, negligent, slipshod

IN BRIEF: Exact, accurate or delimited.

We cannot tell the precise moment when friendship is formed. — James Boswell (1740-1795)

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For a list of words related to precise, see:

• Demanding, Critical, Calculating, or Selfish

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See words rhyming with "precise."

  See crossword solutions for the clue Precise.

Dansk (Danish)
adj. - præcis, korrekt

Nederlands (Dutch)
precies, nauwkeurig, secuur, juist

Français (French)
adj. - précis, méticuleux

Deutsch (German)
adj. - präzise, genau

Ελληνική (Greek)
adj. - ακριβής, επακριβής, ορισμένος, συγκεκριμένος, ακριβολόγος, τυπικός, λεπτολόγος

Italiano (Italian)
preciso, esatto

Português (Portuguese)
adj. - preciso, exato

Русский (Russian)
точный, верный

Español (Spanish)
adj. - preciso, exacto, puntual

Svenska (Swedish)
adj. - exakt, bestämd, petig

中文（简体）(Chinese (Simplified))
精确的, 明白的, 严谨的

中文（繁體）(Chinese (Traditional))
adj. - 精確的, 明白的, 嚴謹的

한국어 (Korean)
adj. - 정밀한, 정확한

日本語 (Japanese)
adj. - 正確な, 精密な, ちょうどの, 寸分違わぬ, 厳格な

العربيه (Arabic)
‏(صفه) دقيق‏

עברית (Hebrew)
adj. - ‮מדוייק, דייקן, נוקדן‬

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