Definitions

from The Century Dictionary.

  • noun The character or fact of being costly; expensiveness; richness; great cost or expense; sumptuousness.

from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.

  • noun The quality of being costy; expensiveness; sumptuousness.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

  • noun The characteristic of being costly.

from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.

  • noun the quality possessed by something with a great price or value

Etymologies

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License

costly +‎ -ness

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Examples

  • Unsatisfied with off-the-rack roman shades — too dinky and un-luxe — and horrified by custom curtain costliness, I noticed the industrial roller shade, an undervalued player on the scene.

    It Sara Ruffin Costello 2010

  • a Puritan chronicler, whose book _The Anatomy of Abuses_ is a valuable aid to the study of Tudor social history, and Harrison, whose description of England prefaces Holinshed's Chronicles, both deal in detail with the Italian menace, and condemn in good set terms the costliness in dress and the looseness in morals which they laid to its charge.

    English Literature: Modern Home University Library of Modern Knowledge G. H. Mair 1906

  • Javier Hernández was the bargain buy of last season but this week his value to Manchester United could be demonstrated by the costliness of his absence.

    Javier Hernández's injury against Aston Villa tests Manchester United 2011

  • I have to agree about the costliness of shooting premium bullets.

    How Many Groups is Enough? 2009

  • Future medicines can reduce the costliness and pain of diseases such as Alzheimer's and cancer, for which there are many promising research leads.

    Will Washington Find the Cure for Cancer? Kenneth C. Frazier 2011

  • Despite his exuberance, historians at the NASA symposium said the golfing exhibition fueled skepticism about the costliness of the space program during the 1970s.

    NASA celebrates astronaut Shepard's historic first flight 2011

  • Arousing much comment and curiosity was the costliness of the ball and more importantly, what the new First Lady was to wear.

    The Presidential Inauguration | Edwardian Promenade 2009

  • I have to agree about the costliness of shooting premium bullets.

    How Many Groups is Enough? 2009

  • These are related since, while almost anyone can potentially gain economically from the Internet, whether through accessing work and learning opportunities at a distance or using online services for local projects, the costliness of Internet access may prevent many people from ever gaining the skills to take advantage of the online world.

    Nathan Newman: Address the Digital Divide in the Cost of Wireless Nathan Newman 2011

  • Luckily for the FDIC, the costliness of failures has dropped as the failure rate slowed.

    Bank Fails Slow, Backlog Looms Joan E. Solsman 2011

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