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A friend offers you money for an a necklace, but you refuse to sell because you obtained the necklace from a friend who died.

You now consider that necklace to have "personal" value (value that you can't put a price tag on).

Question

Is there a better word than "personal" that better describes the value of the object?

"Personal" does not express the exact nature of the situation, as it lacks the true attachment to the item (it came from a special person).

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  • You have an intimacy or attachment to it. Apr 1, 2017 at 6:09
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    It has sentimental value.
    – Jim
    Apr 1, 2017 at 6:10
  • @Jim Thank you :) If a friend has a bad dream about an object, resulting in them disliking the object IRL, would that also be considered sentimental?
    – Dioxin
    Apr 1, 2017 at 6:25
  • @VinceEmigh - No. that’s more superstitious
    – Jim
    Apr 1, 2017 at 6:39

1 Answer 1

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The phrase that would describe this exactly is "sentimental value".

Merriam Webster defines Sentimental Value as:

  • importance to someone because of a connection with a happy time of life, a special person, etc. The picture has sentimental value for me.

This means that there's an emotional and subjective value to it based on memory of past experience rather than any objective value.

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    Sure, glad to help. Providing links to support your answer is a good practice in this site, as it enhances your answer's credibility.
    – Rio1210
    Apr 1, 2017 at 6:30

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