expensive

[ ik-spen-siv ]

/ ɪkˈspɛn sɪv /

adjective

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

Nearby words

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.

Related forms

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

Can be confused

expansive expensive (see synonym study at the current entry)

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples 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

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