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Justyna Jupowicz-Kozak quote

Justyna Jupowicz-Kozak

CEO of Professional Science Editing for Scientists @ prosciediting.com

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cost poorly

Grammar usage guide and real-world examples

USAGE SUMMARY

The phrase "cost poorly" is not commonly used in written English and may not convey a clear meaning.
It could be used in contexts discussing financial decisions or investments that do not yield favorable outcomes. Example: "The project was expected to be profitable, but it ended up costing poorly, leading to significant losses."

Science

News & Media

Formal & Business

Human-verified examples from authoritative sources

Exact Expressions

2 human-written examples

This fact also points to an even bigger problem facing the U.S. health care economy: the growing cost poorly controlled patients are incurring to deal with the many complications that can set in for them.

News & Media

Forbes

Previous investigations of the effectiveness of e-learning technologies for health professionals identified a number of barriers to its success among them cost, poorly designed packages, lack of skills, need for a component of face-to-face teaching, time intensive nature of e-learning and computer anxiety [ 6, 22].

Human-verified similar examples from authoritative sources

Similar Expressions

57 human-written examples

But such issues as repair of our decaying infrastructure, the rising costs of urban living, the looming crises of our aging population many of whom have no pensions, college student debt, public education, rising medical costs, poorly paid jobs and, of course, the key issue of deniability, climate change are not being dealt with in a way in which our citizenry can make a "balanced choice".

News & Media

Huffington Post

Improvement in the handling of dementia in general practice faces the same barriers as other implementations initiatives: lack of perceived requirement for change; costs; poorly designed implementation; inadequate technology.

Yet across public services it is schools that bear the greatest cost of poorly treated mental health.

But Mrs. Merkel and Mr. Sarkozy laid out a different argument: that the United States had only now begun to understand the cost of poorly regulated free-market capitalism, and must now bow to the European model.

News & Media

The New York Times

Ab initio potential energy surface scans can, in principle, be applied to any molecule, but their conformational cost scales poorly with both molecular size and dimensionality of the search space.

Mechanism of injury as a predictor of cost was poorly quantified, some studies reported the high incidents of falls, but did not relate their findings to the cost of treatment.

Activity-based costing studies in ICUs demonstrated that time for patient care and costs were poorly associated with diagnosis but better reflected by staffing patterns, ICU levels, and a number of cost drivers, such as admission process, ICU length of stay, (non)invasive mechanical ventilation, haemodiafiltration, hospital consultation, and transportation (mobile intensive care)[26, 27].

Activity-based costing studies in ICUs demonstrated that time for patient care and costs were poorly associated with diagnosis but better reflected by staffing patterns, ICU levels, and a number of cost drivers, such as admission process, ICU length of stay, (non)invasive mechanical ventilation, haemodiafiltration, hospital consultation, and transportation (mobile intensive care) [ 26, 27].

Failure to build capacity on the government side, and implement transparency, will likely result in low-quality, high-cost, badly selected, and poorly maintained infrastructure projects (Canuto and Cavallari, 2012).

News & Media

Huffington Post
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Expert writing Tips

Best practice

When discussing financial performance, consider using more common and precise phrases like "result in high costs" or "be financially unwise" instead of "cost poorly" for clarity.

Common error

Avoid using "cost poorly" when you mean something is cheap but of low quality. This phrase relates to inefficient expense generation, not low initial price.

Antonio Rotolo, PhD - Digital Humanist | Computational Linguist | CEO @Ludwig.guru

Antonio Rotolo, PhD

Digital Humanist | Computational Linguist | CEO @Ludwig.guru

Source & Trust

86%

Authority and reliability

3.5/5

Expert rating

Real-world application tested

Linguistic Context

The phrase "cost poorly" functions as an adverbial phrase, modifying a verb to describe how something incurs expenses inefficiently or undesirably. Ludwig AI indicates that its usage is not standard, suggesting that more common alternatives should be considered.

Expression frequency: Rare

Frequent in

Science

34%

News & Media

33%

Formal & Business

33%

Less common in

Encyclopedias

0%

Wiki

0%

Reference

0%

Ludwig's WRAP-UP

In summary, the phrase "cost poorly" describes situations where expenses are incurred ineffectively or undesirably. Despite being grammatically acceptable, its usage is rare, and more common alternatives like "result in high costs" or "be financially unwise" are preferable for clarity. Ludwig AI reports that while it is present in various contexts, it is more suited for informal communication. In formal writing it is best to opt for more precise terminology to ensure the message is clearly understood. Given these considerations, while "cost poorly" isn't incorrect, employing alternative phrasing enhances clarity and professionalism.

FAQs

How can I rephrase "cost poorly" in a sentence?

You can use alternatives such as "result in high costs", "prove to be uneconomical", or "incur unwarranted expenditure" depending on the specific context.

Is it grammatically correct to say "cost poorly"?

While not strictly incorrect, the phrase "cost poorly" is uncommon and may sound awkward. More standard phrasing would improve clarity.

What does "cost poorly" actually mean?

It implies that financial resources were not managed effectively, leading to an unfavorable or wasteful outcome, rather than achieving value.

Are there situations where using "cost poorly" is acceptable?

It might be acceptable in informal contexts, but for professional or academic writing, it's better to use more precise and widely understood alternatives like "result in high costs" or "be financially unwise".

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Source & Trust

86%

Authority and reliability

3.5/5

Expert rating

Real-world application tested

Most frequent sentences: