costly

Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English 5++朗文当代英语 5++LDOCE 5++朗文 5++cost·ly /ˈkɒstli $ ˈkɒːstli/ adjective 1 EXPENSIVEvery expensive, especially wasting a lot of money 昂贵的；〔尤指〕花太多钱的n a complex and costly procedure Such a database would be extremely costly to set up. 建立这样一个数据库要花很多钱。► see thesaurus at expensive2 PROBLEMsomething that is costly causes a lot of problems or trouble 代价高的；损失大的 His delay in making a decision could prove costly in the long run. 他的优柔寡断长久下去要付出巨大代价。 —costliness noun [uncountable]

Examples from the Corpus

costly• The finance committee rejected their plan because they said it was too costly.• Maximum use of state-of-the-art technology in place of costly and often error-prone personnel.• A lawsuit would be costly and we would probably lose.• Caring for the park's swans is a costly business - roughly $26,600 per year.• Convening production lines to largely automated production of flat panel sets would be costly in the short term.• Several of the gifts were costly, including a cup of gold and a crystal salt-set.• Taylor's pinched nerve has been the team's most costly injury this season.• Buying all those computers was a costly mistake.• From a cash-flow standpoint, that is less costly than actually paying your corporation an additional $ 200 in interest.• Yet the effort, far more costly than anything ever attempted by any government, has not produced the expected returns.• Purchase of market share is seen to be less costly than establishing brands - and is quicker too.• Punitive damages potentially could be much more costly to cigarette companies than compensatory damages.• Producers must receive a higher price to produce these more costly units. 7 Price and quantity supplied are directly related.prove costly• Dimas Teixeira's decision to stand off Beckham quickly proved costly.• Failure to protect yourself adequately could prove costly.• Still, there was, at times, an element of complacency in de Gaulle's approach, which proved costly.• Yet even now there is a sense of denial that could prove costly.• Mr Collin thinks that could prove costly and time consuming.• The war proved costly for both companies.• Vacant possession will be delayed and will prove costly, if not virtually impossible, to obtain.• Boeing Learns a Lesson in Predictability Mass layoffs prove costly in upswing when workers have taken skills, loyalty elsewhere.

cost·ly adjectiveLDOCE OnlineChineseSyllable

lot money Corpus especially a very of wasting expensive,

costly
cost‧ly /ˈkɒstli $ ˈkɒːstli/

adjective
1. very expensive, especially wasting a lot of money:

a complex and costly procedure

Such a database would be extremely costly to set up.
2. something that is costly causes a lot of problems or trouble:

His delay in making a decision could prove costly in the long run.
—costliness noun [uncountable]

THESAURUS

   ▪ expensive costing a lot of money: an expensive car | Apartments in the city are very expensive. | An underground train system is expensive to build.
   ▪ high costing a lot of money.You use high about rents/fees/prices/costs. Don’t use expensive with these words: Rents are very high in this area. | Lawyers charge high fees. | the high cost of living in Japan
   ▪ dear [not before noun] British English spoken expensive compared to the usual price: £3.50 seems rather dear for a cup of coffee.
   ▪ pricey /ˈpraɪsi/ informal expensive: The clothes are beautiful but pricey.
   ▪ costly expensive in a way that wastes money: Upgrading the system would be very costly. | They were anxious to avoid a costly legal battle.
   ▪ cost a fortune informal to be very expensive: The necklace must have cost a fortune!
   ▪ exorbitant /ɪɡˈzɔːbətənt, ɪɡˈzɔːbɪtənt $ -ɔːr-/ much too expensive: Some accountants charge exorbitant fees.
   ▪ astronomical astronomical prices, costs, and fees are extremely high: the astronomical cost of developing a new spacecraft | the astronomical prices which some people had paid for their seats | The cost of living is astronomical.
   ▪ overpriced too expensive and not worth the price: The DVDs were vastly overpriced.
   ▪ somebody can’t afford something someone does not have enough money to buy or do something: Most people can’t afford to send their children to private schools.

cost·ly

BrE

/ˈkɒstli/

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NAmE

/ˈkɔːstli/

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adjective

(

cost·lier

cost·li·est

)

HELP It is also very common to use more costly and most costly. 亦可用 more costly 和 most costly。

costing a lot of money, especially more than you want to pay 花钱多的；昂贵的；价钱高的

SYN

expensive

◆Buying new furniture may prove too costly. 购买新家具可能会花钱太多。

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<titled tranID="16" status="1">expensive</titled>costly ◇ overpriced ◇ pricey ◇ dear

These words all describe sth that costs a lot of money. 以上各词均表示昂贵、花钱多。

expensive costing a lot of money; charging high prices 指昂贵的、花钱多的、价格高的：◆I can't afford it—it's just too expensive for me. 我买不起，对我来说这太贵了。◆an expensive restaurant 高档餐馆
costly (rather formal) costing a lot of money, especially more than you want to pay 指昂贵的、花钱多的、价钱比愿意付的为高：◆You want to avoid costly legal proceedings if you can. 如果能够的话你希望避免昂贵的法律诉讼。
overpriced too expensive; costing more than it is worth 指价格太高的、过于昂贵的：◆ridiculously overpriced designer clothes 贵得离谱的名牌衣服
pricey (informal) expensive 指昂贵的、价格高的：◆Houses in the village are now too pricey for local people to afford. 如今该村镇的房价太高，当地人根本买不起。
dear [not usually before noun] (BrE) expensive 指昂贵、价格高：◆Everything's so dear now, isn't it? 现在什么东西都那么贵，是不是？ NOTE This word is starting to become rather old-fashioned. 这词已开始有些过时了。