Words / C1

pri-SIZHN/prɪˈsɪʒn/

Precision is exactness: precision of measurement, surgical precision. Precise (already in the dictionary) is the adjective; accuracy is closeness to the true value (a technical cousin); vagueness is opposite. Do not swap poetry in the abstract for a missing n.

Meaning

The quality of being exact, accurate, and careful.

Examples

• “Precision in the n beats poetry in the abstract.”
• “Exact is everyday. Accuracy is a methods cousin (rightness vs tightness). Precise is the adjective already in this course. Approximate is the opposite family. A rounded press figure is a precision failure if the paper had a count.”

Good to know

Exactness. Adjective: precise (already in the dictionary). Cousin: accuracy. Poetry ≠ a sample size.

Near in meaning

precise

New