Costly example sentences

"Costly" Example Sentences

That mistake turned out to be costly in ways we didn't anticipate.
Ignoring the warning signs proved costly for the entire team.
She learned that rushing into decisions can be costly.
The company's costly expansion into that market failed within two years.
His silence on the issue was costly — by the time he spoke up, trust was gone.
Honestly, I had no idea the repairs would be this costly.
The delay in shipping was costly enough that we lost the contract.
Getting divorced is emotionally costly, not just financially.
They discovered that cutting corners was far more costly than doing it right.
Every second of downtime in the factory is costly.
— Did you know how costly this would get? / Not until the bills started arriving.
Just ignore the costly mistakes and move forward. / Easy for you to say.
The costly error in the code took three days to find.
After months of costly legal battles, she finally settled.
I'm so tired of making costly decisions that nobody warned me about.
He watched his career become costly in ways he never expected.
She'd been through costly relationships before and wasn't ready for another.
Somewhere between the first costly investment and the tenth, he lost faith.
It wasn't the money that was costly — it was the time.
Oh sure, trust that vendor — what could be costly about that?
The report called it a minor issue. The costly repairs said otherwise.
Nothing like a costly lawsuit to make you read the fine print.
The mistake was costly. Simple as that.
Forget what they said about the costly alternative.
That decision ruined him. Costly doesn't even cover it.
Why does every choice feel costly these days?
Can we talk about how costly this whole situation has become?
Since when did doing the right thing become so costly?
The pandemic made clear that some things are far too costly to ignore.
She understood, perhaps better than anyone, that surviving costly setbacks required not just resilience but a willingness to start completely over.

Common Phrases

costly mistake
costly error
costly decision
costly process
costly affair
costly venture
too costly
prove costly
turn out costly
costly in the long run

Examples by Level

That toy is too costly for me.
The costly trip made her very tired.

Losing his job was costly because he had no money for rent.
She knew the costly mistake would cause problems at work.

Looking back, that decision was costly — but at the time, nobody saw the real price.
There's something almost painful about accepting how costly your choices have been.

The collapse felt costly to everyone except the people who'd caused it.
She'd spent years fighting something that was, in hindsight, far more costly than she'd admitted.

What we call progress often requires accepting a costly degree of loss that most people aren't prepared to face.
The tension between ambition and integrity had been building for years — its resolution, inevitably costly.

There's a particular kind of grief that comes with recognizing how costly your silence has been — not dramatic, just quiet and very, very final.
He'd made peace with the costly nature of his choices long before anyone else was willing to even name what they'd lost.

Examples by Scenario

🏠 Everyday Life

My dog got sick last week and the vet bills were incredibly costly.
Replacing the kitchen tiles turned out to be way more costly than we budgeted for.

💼 Workplace

The system outage was costly — we lost three hours of productivity and three clients.
Someone's costly mistake in the spreadsheet almost went to the board meeting.

📊 Business

The costly rebrand didn't resonate with our target market at all.
Our supply chain disruption proved costly enough to impact quarterly earnings.

🛒 Buying / Shopping

I'm looking at this coffee maker and it's way too costly for what it does.
The warranty seemed expensive at first, but it saved me from a costly repair.

✈️ Travel

Booking flights at the last minute is always costly — I learned that the hard way.
The hotel's costly cancellation policy meant we lost money when plans changed.

📚 Education

College tuition has become so costly that most students graduate with debt.
The teacher explained how costly mistakes in science experiments can be dangerous.

❤️ Relationships

We got the apartment together, so when we broke up, deciding who stayed was costly in ways money couldn't measure.
He knew I was upset before I even spoke — the costly silence between us said everything.

📰 News / Politics

The senator's costly campaign promises didn't materialize once she took office.
Environmental groups warn that ignoring climate change will be far more costly than acting now.

💻 Technology

The software glitch was costly — it corrupted data across the entire network.
Upgrading to the new system is expensive upfront, but staying with the old one is more costly long-term.

📝 Formal Writing

The study demonstrates that inadequate preventive care results in costly emergency interventions later.
Regulatory non-compliance carries costly penalties that organizations must carefully evaluate.