# costly

> English word · Adjective · IPA /ˈkɒst.li/ · frequency rank #7,899

## Definitions
1. Of high cost; expensive.

## Etymology
From Middle English costly, costely, costeley, equivalent to cost + -ly.

## Easily confused with
- **cosy** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/costly-vs-cosy)
- **costs** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/costly-vs-costs)
- **courtly** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/costly-vs-courtly)
- **cost** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/cost-vs-costly)
- **costa** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/costa-vs-costly)
- **Cosby** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/cosby-vs-costly)
- **castle** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/castle-vs-costly)
- **comply** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/comply-vs-costly)
- **coldly** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/coldly-vs-costly)
- **coolly** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/coolly-vs-costly)
- **costal** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/costal-vs-costly)
- **closely** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/closely-vs-costly)
- **cosplay** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/cosplay-vs-costly)

## Common misspellings (10)
`ccostly`, `coslty`, `cosstly`, `costlly`, `costlyy`, `costtly`, `costyl`, `cotsly`, `csotly`, `ocstly`

## Source
Compiled from Wiktionary via kaikki.org (CC BY-SA). Data vintage: 2026-05-06.
Canonical page: https://plainspell.com/en/word/costly