expensively
/ɛkˈspɛn.sɪv.li/adverb
expensively is spelled E-X-P-E-N-S-I-V-E-L-Y: 11 letters and 4 syllables. It appears about once in every 5 million words in written English, the 69,884th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As an adverb, expensively means “In an expensive manner” (English Wiktionary, September 2026).
How many letters and syllables are in expensively?
| Letters | 11: E-X-P-E-N-S-I-V-E-L-Y |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 4 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | about once in every 5 million words; the 69,884th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
| Rhymes with |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation and the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media); rhymes and same-letter words are computed by PlainSpell from its own word list.
How common is expensively?
Expensively appears about once in every 5 million words in written English, the 69,884th most frequent word form in the list.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How do you pronounce expensively?
- US /ɛkˈspɛn.sɪv.li/
Expensively has 4 syllables (counted from its American pronunciation in the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: LL-Q1860_(eng)-Qwertygiy-expensively.wav, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
What rhymes with expensively?
2 words on PlainSpell end in the same sounds as expensively from its last stressed vowel (/ɛnsɪvli/):
Computed by PlainSpell from the pronunciations in the English Wiktionary (dump of September 2, 2026): a rhyme shares every sound from the last stressed vowel to the end; ordered by written frequency (wordfreq 3.1).
Forms of expensively
- more expensively comparative
- most expensively superlative
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does expensively mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
adverb
- 1
In an expensive manner.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Expensively in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
In the sense in an expensive manner:
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| German | teuer |
| Portuguese | caramente, custosamente |
| Spanish | costosamente |
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.
Where does expensively come from?
From expensive + -ly.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).