expensive

[ ik-spen-siv ]

adjective

1. entailing great expense; very high-priced; costly:

   an expensive party.

   Antonyms: low-priced, cheap

expensive

/ ɪkˈspɛnsɪv /

adjective

1. high-priced; costly; dear

Derived Forms

• exˈpensively, adverb
• exˈpensiveness, noun

Other Words From

• ex·pensive·ly adverb
• ex·pensive·ness noun
• quasi-ex·pensive adjective
• quasi-ex·pensive·ly adverb

Word History and Origins

Origin of expensive¹

First recorded in 1620–30; expense + -ive

Synonym Study

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.

Example Sentences

Providing the help that homeless people need is a difficult, long and expensive task, and residents clearly still believe in that mission.

From Los Angeles Times

This is where Macklin and other counterterrorism experts warn the United States could be headed: The harsher and more challenging the environment gets and the more destructive and expensive the impacts become, the more climate change may be seized as the dominion of the right.

From Salon

Two secondary schools could take on 600 extra pupils between them after plans to build a new school became too expensive.

From BBC

Trump’s Republican administration also is considering imposing tariffs on Mexico and China, which could make cars more expensive.

From Los Angeles Times

Buying sports rights can be incredibly expensive, and some analysts are skeptical about the rewatchability of certain games.

From Los Angeles Times

Related Words

• costly
• extravagant
• fancy
• high
• lavish
• overpriced
• pricey
• upscale
• valuable