costful

C3O1S1T1F4U1L1

adjective

Expensive; sumptuous.

OriginMiddle English costful →
Scrabble 12
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Meanings

adjectivecostful (comparative more costful, superlative most costful)

comparative more costful · superlative most costful

  1. archaicExpensive; sumptuous.
  2. Indicative of expenditure or loss; costly.

    The fight against improved means, methods and materials in the construction industry, in shipping by rail or by sea, in the printing industry and most everywhere has been hugely costful to American consumers and involves a great waste of resources.

    1965, Bertie Charles Forbes, Forbes, volume 95, page 78

Synonyms & antonyms

Also see
dearexpensiveeye-wateringout of sightpriceyspendyspennospennysteep

Origin

  1. Middle Englishcostful
  2. Englishcostful

From Middle English costful, equivalent to cost + -ful. Perhaps influenced by Middle English costful (“fraught with hardship”), a different word.

More words from Middle English

Full word history & related roots →
Cite this entry
APA

costful. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/costful

MLA

“costful.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/costful. Accessed November 3, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “costful,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/costful.

Source: costful on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.