expensiveness

expensiveness — noun

1. the quality that makes something cost a great deal of money, especially when com

1.nounB2
Definition

the quality that makes something cost a great deal of money, especially when compared with what is usual or expected

Example

Olivia could not believe the expensiveness of renting a one-bedroom flat in the city centre.

the expensiveness of + gerund phrase

Darius started cooking at home after he saw the expensiveness of local restaurants.

Common collocations
  • the expensiveness of [housing / travel / healthcare / living]
  • complain about the expensiveness of
  • be shocked by the expensiveness of
  • despite the expensiveness of
Synonyms
  • costliness

    more formal; often found in economic or business writing

  • dearness

    old-fashioned; still heard in British English but rare elsewhere

  • high price

    the most common everyday alternative, but names the price itself rather than the abstract quality

Antonyms
  • cheapness

    the direct opposite, though it can carry a negative hint of poor quality

  • affordability

    focuses on being within people's financial reach, not just low in price

  • inexpensiveness

    neutral term for the quality of not costing much

Grammar Patterns

the expensiveness of + noun/noun phrase

Usage Note

Uncountable noun — never used with 'a' or in the plural. Describes a general quality rather than a specific price figure; for the actual amount of money, use 'cost' or 'price' instead.

Common Mistakes

The expensiveness of the car is $30,000.
The cost of the car is $30,000.
expensiveness names a quality (being costly), not a specific sum of money.

Word family

Synonym discussion

Sense: noun/1

Expensiveness is the most neutral everyday word for the quality of costing a lot. Costliness carries a more formal, often economic tone — you might read about 'the costliness of the project' in a business report but would rarely say it at the dinner table. Dearness is old-fashioned and regional; you may still hear it in British English ('the dearness of London') but it sounds dated to most other ears. High price is the most common spoken alternative, but it refers to the actual price tag rather than the abstract quality — a car can have a high price without anyone commenting on its 'expensiveness' as a characteristic. Overpricing goes a step further: it means the price is unfairly high relative to what you get. You might accept the expensiveness of a Michelin-starred meal, but you would complain about the overpricing of a soggy sandwich at the airport.

costliness ↗dearnesshigh priceoverpricing

Common collocations

Nouns

Phrases

  • the expensiveness of living in [city]
  • complain about the expensiveness

Prepositions

Etymology

LatinFrenchEnglish

Expensiveness comes from the adjective expensive, which entered English in the early 1600s meaning 'given to spending freely' or 'costly.' That word traces back through French to the Latin verb expendere, meaning 'to weigh out' or 'to pay out' — a vivid image of counting out coins on a scale. The -ness suffix, added later, turns the adjective into an abstract noun naming the quality itself.