even more costly

USAGE SUMMARY

"even more costly" is correct and usable in written English.
You can use it to emphasize how expensive something is. For example: "The luxury model was even more costly than the standard version."

✓ Grammatically correct

News & Media

Science

Academia

Human-verified examples from authoritative sources

Exact Expressions

60 human-written examples

The seniority protections proved even more costly.

The New Yorker

Education is even more costly.

The New York Times

The second was even more costly.

The New York Times - Sports

Even more costly, and rarely used, is beryllium.

The New York Times

Senior executives — SVPs and EVPs — are even more costly.

Harvard Business Review

The expanding list of tariffs will prove even more costly.

The Washington Post

But preserving, protecting, and defending the status quo may prove even more costly.

Massachusetts Institute of Technology

Mechanical thinning (think chainsaws), is even more costly than prescribed burning.

University of California, Berkeley

Real-time code is error-prone, expensive to write, and even more costly to debug.

The Firmware Handbook

Commercial genotypic antiretroviral resistance testing is even more costly, yet it provides important benefits.

Journal of Clinical Virology

When you are trying something difficult, mistakes are even more costly than usual.

The Economist

Expert writing Tips

Best practice

Use "even more costly" to directly compare the expenses of two or more options, emphasizing the significantly higher price of one over the others.

Common error

Avoid using "even more costly" when not making a direct comparison. If there is no reference point for what is already costly, simply state that something "is costly" or "very costly".

Linguistic Context

The phrase "even more costly" functions as a comparative adjective phrase. It modifies a noun or pronoun by indicating a higher degree of cost relative to something already considered costly. Ludwig shows numerous examples in various contexts.

Expression frequency: Very common

Frequent in

News & Media

63%

Science

17%

Academia

8%

Less common in

Formal & Business

4%

Wiki

1%

Reference

0%

Ludwig's WRAP-UP

In summary, "even more costly" is a comparative phrase used to emphasize a significant increase in expense. As Ludwig AI confirms, the phrase is grammatically sound and widely used across various contexts, particularly in news, science, and academic writing. When using this phrase, ensure you are making a clear comparison and avoid redundancy by not using "costlier" with "even more". By considering these points, you can effectively use "even more costly" to convey the magnitude of expenses in your writing.

More alternative expressions

Phrases that express similar concepts, ordered by semantic similarity:

still more expensive

Uses "expensive" instead of "costly", keeping the comparative structure.

considerably pricier

Uses the less formal "pricier" to indicate a higher price.

even greater expense

Replaces "costly" with "expense", focusing on the financial aspect.

significantly dearer

Employs "dearer", a more formal synonym for expensive, to convey increased cost.

prohibitively expensive

Emphasizes that the cost is so high as to prevent purchase or action.

remarkably higher cost

Highlights that the difference is notably high

increasingly unaffordable

Focuses on the decreasing ability to afford something.

excessively overpriced

Stresses that the price is beyond reasonable or justifiable limits.

yet more burdensome

Shifts the focus to the onerous nature of the cost, whether financial or otherwise.

substantially more

A more general phrase that indicates a significant increase in cost.

FAQs

How can I use "even more costly" in a sentence?

Use "even more costly" to compare the price of two or more things, highlighting that one option is significantly more expensive than the others. For example: "While both options are expensive, the deluxe version is "even more costly"".

What are some alternatives to saying "even more costly"?

Depending on the context, you can use phrases such as "still more expensive", "prohibitively expensive", or "significantly dearer" to express a similar idea.

Is it correct to say "even more costlier"?

No, "even more costlier" is redundant because "costlier" is already a comparative form of "costly". The correct phrase is ""even more costly"".

What's the difference between "even more costly" and "more costly"?

"More costly" indicates that something is more expensive than something else. "Even more costly" emphasizes that the difference in cost is significant or surprising. It adds a layer of emphasis to the comparison.