expensive

[ ik-spen-siv ]

/ ɪkˈspɛn sɪv /

adjective

entailing great expense; very high-priced; costly: an expensive party.

Words nearby expensive

expend, expendable, expenditure, expense, expense account, expensive, experience, experience is the best teacher, experience meeting, experience point, experience table

Origin of expensive

First recorded in 1620–30; expense + -ive

SYNONYMS FOR expensive

Expensive, costly, dear, high-priced apply to something that is high in price. Expensive is applied to whatever entails considerable expense; it suggests a price more than the average person would normally be able to pay or a price paid only for something special: an expensive automobile. Costly implies that the price is a large sum, usually because of the fineness, preciousness, etc., of the object: a costly jewel. Dear is commonly applied in England to something that is selling beyond its usual or just price. In the U.S., high-priced is the usual equivalent.

ANTONYMS FOR expensive

cheap, low-priced.

OTHER WORDS FROM expensive

ex·pen·sive·ly, adverbex·pen·sive·ness, nounqua·si-ex·pen·sive, adjectivequa·si-ex·pen·sive·ly, adverb

WORDS THAT MAY BE CONFUSED WITH expensive

expansive expensive (see synonym study at the current entry)

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2020

Example sentences from the Web for expensiveness

The expensiveness of your apparel is not of much importance, but its freshness and cleanliness are indispensable.
Martine's Hand-book of Etiquette, and Guide to True Politeness|Arthur Martine
The marks of expensiveness come to be accepted as beautiful features of the expensive articles.
The Theory of the Leisure Class|Thorstein Veblen
Tournaments were also interdicted on account of their expensiveness.
The History of Chivalry, Volume I (of 2)|Charles Mills
He had a genius for estimating the values of land, the expensiveness of drainage, and the possibilities of the market.
The Evolution of the Country Community|Warren H. Wilson

No, not for the world; what man of sense would bear the insolences, the petulances, the expensiveness of a wife!
Clarissa, Volume 4 (of 9)|Samuel Richardson

British Dictionary definitions for expensiveness

expensive

/ (ɪkˈspɛnsɪv) /

adjective

high-priced; costly; dear

Derived forms of expensive

expensively, adverbexpensiveness, noun

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012