costly
Hard on wallets
Costly means expensive or requiring significant resources: a costly renovation, a costly mistake.
The word emphasizes the burden of the expense rather than just the price—something costly depletes what you have.
Costly errors aren't just expensive in money; they may cost time, reputation, or opportunity.
The delay proved costly to the campaign.
Costing a lot
- exorbitantUnreasonably high, as costs
- steepRising at sharp angle
- overpricedCosting more than warranted
- high-pricedCosting much money
dear · spendy · hefty · sky-high · unaffordable · extortionate · astronomical · outrageous
Requiring great effort
- onerousInvolving excessive difficulty
- drainingDepleting one's reserves
- strainingExerting intense effort
- debilitatingCausing severe impairment
punishing · crippling · ruinous · devastating · damaging · detrimental · harmful · injurious
Exceeding sensible bounds
- lavishAbundant beyond necessity
- sumptuousSplendidly rich and costly
- opulentOstentatiously wealthy
- plushThick-pile soft fabric
decadent · palatial · gilded · ornate · indulgent · splendid · magnificent · grandiose
Exchange requiring sacrifice
- compromiseAgreement through mutual sacrifice
- priceMonetary value assigned
- tollFee for passage
- forfeitLose through violation
concession · surrender · renunciation · loss · relinquishment · painful · difficult · hard-won
Foolish, costly mistake
- errorFault in communication
- misstepError in action or judgment
- miscalculationError in estimation
- oversightSupervision or inadvertent omission
failure · setback · fiasco · debacle · disaster · catastrophe · consequence · regret
pricey
Costing a lot
- exorbitantUnreasonably high, as costs
- steepRising at sharp angle
- overpricedCosting more than warranted
high-priced · dear · spendy · hefty · sky-high · unaffordable · extortionate · astronomical · outrageous · prohibitive
taxing
Requiring great effort
- onerousInvolving excessive difficulty
- drainingDepleting one's reserves
- strainingExerting intense effort
debilitating · punishing · crippling · ruinous · devastating · damaging · detrimental · harmful · injurious · crushing
extravagant
Exceeding sensible bounds
plush · decadent · palatial · gilded · ornate · indulgent · splendid · magnificent · grandiose · upscale
trade-off
Exchange requiring sacrifice
- compromiseAgreement through mutual sacrifice
- priceMonetary value assigned
- tollFee for passage
forfeit · concession · surrender · renunciation · loss · relinquishment · painful · difficult · hard-won
blunder
Foolish, costly mistake
- errorFault in communication
- misstepError in action or judgment
- miscalculationError in estimation
oversight · failure · setback · fiasco · debacle · disaster · catastrophe · consequence · regret · lesson
- Scarcity & Valuerare, scarce, pricey, expensive, luxury
- -LY wordssoftly, loudly, quickly, slowly, happily
- price wordscheap, expensive, affordable, pricey, overpriced
- shopping descriptorscheap, expensive, affordable, bargain, discount
- money wordsvalue, worth, wealth, poverty, cheap
- qualitiesgood, bad, better, best, useful
costlybeneficial
Producing good results
helpful · harmless · painless · inconsequential · trivial
costlyworthwhile
Meriting effort or attention
valuable · cost-effective · economical · efficient · reasonable
- sunk costUnrecoverable past outlay
- cost of livingPrice of basic necessities
- at any costDespite all obstacles
- no costWithout monetary exchange
- how much does it costInquiry about monetary amount
- hidden costUnadvertised additional expense