TOEIC Link Part 5: expansive versus expensive

Expansive and expensive are separated by little more than a swapped pair of letters, yet they describe entirely different qualities. Expansive (adjective) means wide in range or extent; broad, comprehensive, or large in scope. Expensive (adjective) means costing a lot of money; high in price. One is about breadth; the other is about cost. Part 5 exploits the near-identical spelling to check whether you read for meaning rather than grabbing the more familiar word. For the wider set of look-alike traps, start with the commonly confused word pairs master index.

The core rule: broad in scope versus high in cost

• expansive (adjective) = wide-ranging, extensive, broad in scope or size. The company announced an expansive plan to enter twelve new markets. / The resort sits on an expansive stretch of coastline. It answers how broad or extensive? and pairs with words like plan, view, network, coverage, range.
• expensive (adjective) = costing a great deal; high-priced. The expensive equipment strained the department's budget. / Downtown office space is increasingly expensive. It answers how much does it cost? and pairs with words about money — budget, price, rent, repairs.

The two never overlap. Expansive measures breadth; expensive measures price. If the sentence is about how wide or comprehensive something is, it is expansive; if it is about how costly something is, it is expensive. A memory hook: expensive shares its middle with expense and expend — both about spending money — while expansive shares its root with expand and expanse — both about growing wider.

Why Part 5 likes this pair

The pair rewards attention to whether the sentence is talking about scope or about cost, and both adjectives fit the business contexts Part 5 favors.

The consultancy is known for its __ network of partners across more than forty countries.

The noun network and the phrase across more than forty countries point to breadth, so the answer is expansive.

The proposed renovation was rejected because it was far too __ for the available budget.

The reference to budget points to cost, so the answer is expensive.

Spotting the clue

Check whether the sentence measures breadth or price:

• Is something described as wide, broad, large in extent, or far-reaching? → choose expansive (an expansive view, an expansive product line, expansive coverage).
• Is something described as costly, high-priced, or a strain on a budget? → choose expensive (an expensive contract, expensive machinery, too expensive).

A quick test: if you can substitute broad or extensive, it is expansive; if you can substitute costly or high-priced, it is expensive. Watch for budget, price, and cost words nearby — they pull the answer toward expensive; scope and size words pull it toward expansive. For more pairs where a shared look hides a meaning gap, see the business and finance confusable pairs study guide.

Quick self-check

1. The museum's __ collection spans five centuries of art. (expansive — wide-ranging)
2. Importing the parts turned out to be too __ to justify. (expensive — costly)
3. Management outlined an __ vision for the next decade of growth. (expansive — broad in scope)

Takeaway

If the sentence is about how broad or far-reaching something is, you need expansive. If it is about how much something costs, you need expensive. Look for cost words like budget and price (they point to expensive) or scope words like range and coverage (they point to expansive), and the swapped letters stop being a trap. To see how this pair fits the wider set of Part 5 sound-alikes, return to the commonly confused word pairs master index.