Word Pronunciation & Dictionary

costful

Word Rarity Very rare

Frequency: Zipf frequency 0.00 in modern English

Syllables: cost-ful
IPA

12

Scrabble Score

7

Letters

2

Syllables

7

Unique Chars

Meaning

adj

Expensive; sumptuous.

Archaic

adj

Indicative of expenditure or loss; costly.

Example Sentences

"The fight against improved means, methods and materials in the construction industry, in shipping by rail or by sea, in the printing industry and most everywhere has been hugely costful to American consumers and involves a great waste of resources."

Etymology

From Middle English costful, equivalent to cost + -ful. Perhaps influenced by Middle English costful (“fraught with hardship”), a different word.

Origin

Source language: Middle English

Word Breakdown

Root: costful
Suffix: cost

Usage

Archaic

Inflected Forms

more costful (comparative) most costful (superlative)

Derived Forms

costfully

Questions

What does costful mean?: Expensive; sumptuous.
Where does costful come from?: It is traced to Middle English.

How to pronounce costful

Open the pronunciation page — Open the Speakur entry for “costful”.
Read the phonetic spelling — Read the IPA spelling () so you know which sounds to aim for.
Play the audio — Click Play to hear reference audio for “costful”.
Repeat and practice — Say “costful” aloud, matching stress and vowels until it feels natural.