precise

See also: précise, precisé, and précisé

EnglishEdit

Alternative formsEdit

EtymologyEdit

From Middle French précis, from Latin praecisus, perfect passive participle of praecīdere, from prae- (before, in front) +‎ caedere (cut; strike), cognate with English hit. Related to English incise. Doublet of précis.

PronunciationEdit

  • IPA(key): /pɹɪˈsaɪs/
  • (file)
  • Rhymes: -aɪs
  • Hyphenation: pre‧cise

AdjectiveEdit

precise (comparative more precise or preciser, superlative most precise or precisest)

  1. exact, accurate
    • 1921, Bertrand Russell, The Analysis of Mind:
      A memory is "precise" when the occurrences that would verify it are narrowly circumscribed: for instance, "I met Jones" is precise as compared to "I met a man." A memory is "accurate" when it is both precise and true, i.e. in the above instance, if it was Jones I met.
    • 2018, James Lambert, “A multitude of ‘lishes’: The nomenclature of hybridity”, in English World-Wide[1], page 7:
      Individually, some of these definitions fall into the common definitional trap of being overly precise.
    Antonyms: inexact, imprecise
  2. (sciences, of experimental results) consistent, clustered close together, agreeing with each other (this does not mean that they cluster near the true, correct, or accurate value)
    • 2013 June 22, “Snakes and ladders”, in The Economist, volume 407, number 8841, page 76:
      Risk is everywhere. [] For each [kind] there is a frighteningly precise measurement of just how likely it is to jump from the shadows and get you. “The Norm Chronicles” [] aims to help data-phobes find their way through this blizzard of risks.
    Antonyms: inconsistent, varying
  3. adhering too much to rules; prim or punctilious

SynonymsEdit

Derived termsEdit

TranslationsEdit

VerbEdit

precise (third-person singular simple present precises, present participle precising, simple past and past participle precised)

  1. (nonstandard, non-native speakers' English or European Union documents, transitive) To make or render precise; to specify.
    • 2011, Proposal for a REGULATION OF THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND OF THE COUNCIL on the Common Fisheries Policy:
      This proposal for a new basic regulation is justified because there is a need to precise the objectives of the CFP.

Derived termsEdit

TranslationsEdit

AnagramsEdit

ItalianEdit

AdjectiveEdit

precise

  1. feminine plural of preciso

ParticipleEdit

precise f pl

  1. feminine plural of preciso

VerbEdit

precise

  1. third-person singular past historic of precidere

AnagramsEdit

PortugueseEdit

PronunciationEdit

 

VerbEdit

precise

  1. inflection of precisar:
    1. first/third-person singular present subjunctive
    2. third-person singular imperative

SpanishEdit

PronunciationEdit

  • IPA(key): (Spain) /pɾeˈθise/ [pɾeˈθi.se]
  • IPA(key): (Latin America) /pɾeˈsise/ [pɾeˈsi.se]
  • Rhymes: -ise
  • Syllabification: pre‧ci‧se

VerbEdit

precise

  1. inflection of precisar:
    1. first/third-person singular present subjunctive
    2. third-person singular imperative