expensively

expensively — adverb

1. using or costing a large amount of money, more than what would usually be expect

1.adverbB1
Definition

using or costing a large amount of money, more than what would usually be expected for a particular situation or thing

Example

The newlyweds decorated their first apartment expensively, with marble floors and silk curtains.

collocation: decorate expensively / furnish expensively

Aiko dressed expensively for the job interview, wearing a tailored silk suit.

collocation: dress expensively / be expensively dressed

Common collocations
  • dress expensively
  • furnish expensively
  • decorate expensively
  • equip expensively
  • live expensively
  • entertain expensively
  • celebrate expensively
  • expensively dressed
  • expensively furnished
  • expensively decorated
Synonyms
  • dearly

    used mainly with 'pay' or 'cost' ('it cost me dearly'); suggests a high emotional or financial price

  • lavishly

    implies spending freely and generously, often in a showy way

  • luxuriously

    focuses on comfort, pleasure, and high quality rather than just high cost

  • sumptuously

    suggests rich, elaborate decoration or meals, often with an impression of grandeur

Antonyms
  • cheaply

    the most direct opposite; at a low cost

  • economically

    spending money carefully and without waste, not necessarily at a low cost

Grammar Patterns

verb + expensively

be + expensively + past participle

Usage Note

Commonly appears after verbs that describe how something is equipped, decorated, presented, or enjoyed (dress, decorate, furnish, entertain, celebrate). In formal writing it can also modify verbs like equip or appoint.

Common Mistakes

The restaurant was very expensively.
The restaurant was very expensive.
'Expensively' is an adverb and cannot follow a linking verb like 'was'; use the adjective 'expensive' instead.
She bought an expensively handbag.
She bought an expensive handbag.
Use the adjective 'expensive' before a noun, not the adverb 'expensively'.

Word family

Synonym discussion

Sense: adverb/1

Expensively is the most neutral of these adverbs, simply indicating that something has a high monetary cost. Dearly is narrower — it pairs almost exclusively with the verbs 'pay' and 'cost' ('it cost me dearly'), and often carries emotional weight. Lavishly adds a sense of generosity or showiness: a party can be lavishly hosted even if the per-person cost is moderate, whereas an expensively hosted party emphasises the total outlay. Luxuriously stresses comfort and pleasure derived from high-quality materials or services (a luxuriously appointed hotel room), while sumptuously suggests visual richness and grandeur, especially in food, fabrics, and decor (a sumptuously decorated banquet hall). Use expensively when you simply mean 'at high cost'; choose one of the others when you want to highlight the manner in which the money is spent.

expensively ↗dearly ↗lavishlyluxuriouslysumptuously

Common collocations

Adverbs

  • quite expensively
  • very expensively
  • extremely expensively
  • rather expensively

Phrases

  • live expensively
  • dress expensively
  • furnish expensively

Etymology

LatinEnglish

Expensively is formed by adding the adverb suffix -ly to the adjective expensive, which comes from the Latin verb expendere, meaning 'to weigh out' or 'to pay out'. The Latin root breaks down as ex- ('out') + pendere ('to weigh, to pay'). In the 17th century, expensive shifted from meaning 'given to spending freely' to its modern sense of 'costing a large amount of money'. The adverb form expensively followed naturally as speakers needed a way to describe the manner in which money was spent.