expensive

Meaning

1. Having a high price or cost.
2. Taking a lot of system time or resources.
3. (obsolete) Given to expending a lot of money; profligate, lavish.
4. Having a high economy rate.

Opposite of

cheap, inexpensive, low-priced, economical

Synonyms

costly

dear

valuable

precious

pricey

high-priced

difficult

hard

exorbitant

beloved

high

sumptuous

cherished

high price

luxurious

firm

lavish

pricy

honorable

over-priced

lovely

expensiveness

honourable

important

long

noble

overpriced

priceless

chargeable

respected

rich

🤑

scarce

steep

stiff

sweet

tall

upmarket

upscale

big-ticket

wealth

worth

worthy

money-eating

be costly

fear

😨

high-ticket

dry

distant

excessive

dignified

Translations

cher

teuer

💰

caro

caro

costoso

duur

💰

coûteux

💰

caro

car

💰

ακριβός

costoso

pahalı

💰

kostbaar

carus

Pronounced as (IPA)

/ɪkˈspɛnsɪv/

Etymology

Cognate with English: expend

In summary

From Latin *expēnsīvus, from expendō (“to weigh out (money), to pay out”) (whence English expend). By surface analysis, expense + -ive. In the sense of "high-priced" has largely displaced dear.

Sentences

The national tour ended the following year as his management costs proved too expensive .

The lobster was expensive and undercooked .

The firebox was made of steel rather than the rarer and more expensive copper .