Meaning & use
prized possessions
Last updated
Meaning
nounplural
Things someone owns and values very highly, often because of sentimental importance or great quality.
Grammar: Usually plural: prized possessions; the singular is a prized possession.
Patterns
- one of someone's prized possessions
- prized possessions of someone
Her grandfather's watch is one of her most prized possessions.
He keeps his prized possessions in a locked cabinet.
The family saved only their prized possessions when the flood came.
Common combinations
- one of my prized possessions
- This guitar is one of my prized possessions.
- most prized possessions
- Photographs are among her most prized possessions.
- guard prized possessions
- He guards his prized possessions carefully.
- lose prized possessions
- They lost their prized possessions in the fire.
- sentimental prized possessions
- Sentimental prized possessions are hard to replace.
Synonyms and how they differ
- treasures
- Treasures is warmer and more poetic, while prized possessions sounds slightly more formal and factual.
- valuables
- Valuables usually means items worth money, such as jewelry, whereas prized possessions can be cheap but loved.
- keepsakes
- Keepsakes are items kept to remember a person or time, so they have a narrower, sentimental meaning.
- belongings
- Belongings is a general word for anything someone owns and does not signal that the items are especially valued.
Opposites
Word family
- prize verb
- to value highly
- prized adjective
- highly valued
- possession noun
- something you own
- possess verb
- to own or have
Commonly confused: prized possessions or priced possessions?
prized possessions vs priced possessions
Priced means given a cost, while prized means highly valued; an item can be prized without having any price.
Practice
Which sentence best uses the phrase 'prized possessions'?
Choose one answer.
Prized possessions are items that are highly valued, such as a mother's necklace. The other sentences describe treating items carelessly, which does not fit the word prized.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “prized possessions”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.