preciosity

[ presh-ee-os-i-tee ]

/ ˌprɛʃ iˈɒs ɪ ti /

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

Origin of preciosity

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

In spite of the beauty of Galahauts devotion, its logic and preciosity scarcely throb with manhoods blood.

The Mediaeval Mind (Volume I of II) |Henry Osborn Taylor
The poem recalls Drummond of Hawthornden, not only by the rhythm, but also by a certain ‘preciosity’ of diction and imagery.

The Age of Tennyson |Hugh Walker
Walter Pater's essay on Style is honeycombed with involutions and preciosity.

Unicorns |James Huneker
It is difficult to resist the sense of a strain for bizarre harmony, of a touch of preciosity.

Symphonies and Their Meaning; Third Series, Modern Symphonies |Philip H. Goepp

It is only that, in seeking to compensate himself for his infecundity, he has fallen into the deep sea of preciosity.

Musical Portraits |Paul Rosenfeld

preciosity

/ (ˌprɛʃɪˈɒsɪtɪ) /

fastidiousness or affectation, esp in speech or manners