Definitions

expensive

[ik-spen-siv] / ɪkˈspɛn sɪv /

ADJECTIVE

high-priced

Synonyms

STRONGEST

costly extravagant fancy high lavish overpriced pricey upscale valuable

WEAK

an arm and a leg at a premium big-ticket dear excessive exorbitant highway robbery holdup immoderate inordinate invaluable out of sight plush posh pretty penny rich ritzy sky-high steep stiff swank too high uneconomical unreasonable

Antonyms

STRONGEST

economical reasonable unimportant worthless

WEAK

cheap inexpensive low-priced moderate

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

Expensive appliances and steeper gas prices are forcing would-be shoppers to ask if they really do need a fridge or dishwasher.

From MarketWatch • May 15, 2026

Expensive GPU-filled servers were overkill, and data-center customers mostly bought CPU servers to run websites, databases, applications, and other traditional workloads.

From Barron's • May 8, 2026

Expensive wine experiences and pricey wines show up quite regularly in r/wine, and some of the most common questions I found related to a wine’s worth or readiness to drink.

From The Wall Street Journal • Jan. 8, 2026

Expensive legal settlements and court judgments resulting from lawsuits against the city have been especially costly.

From Los Angeles Times • Dec. 18, 2024

Expensive electronic equipment sat unmolested on the shelves.

From "The Road" by Cormac McCarthy

Vocabulary lists containing expensive

List 1

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"The Evolution of a Great Idea"

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