The most common and most likely answer to this crossword clue is the 8 letter word ENDEARED
I've seen this crossword clue in The Guardian
E
N
D
E
A
R
E
D
More clues leading to the result ENDEARED
- Caused to be loved as death approached, an unspecified number lost
- Finished receiving attention and charmed
- Almost finished, a ruby is made precious
- Made beloved stop collecting expensive delftware finally
- Beloved listener finished being put outside
- Attracted close to a bright colour on taking drug
- Made darling quit grabbing attention
Buddy explains!
The straight part
We know that "made precious" is the straight/definition part of the clue. The straight part is often a synonym or definition, in this case made precious = endeared.The cryptic/wordplay part
In cryptic crossword there's often an wordplay/cryptic part as well.This part involves a more complex hint, such as an anagram, homophone, hidden word, etc.
Sadly, We don't have an explanation for this specific crossword clue yet.
What does ENDEARED mean?
ENDEARED verb- To make (something) more precious or valuable.
- To make (something) more expensive; to increase the cost of.
- To stress (something) as important; to exaggerate.
- To make (someone) dear or precious.