I've been doing a translation for an article and it occured to me that I don't know a one-word antonym for the word 'cheapest'. I tried googling it, and the best suggestion I got was 'expensive', but that's not right since 'the most expensive' is the proper antonym. And it's not a one-word antonym! I understand that it's how the degrees of comparison work with different words, but is there really no direct one-word antonym?

The context is:

After an aesthetic surgery, Lette becomes a success model that is unanimously accepted by the consumerist society in which everything is for sale, and the prettiest package sells _______ (antonym of 'cheapest')

It's from a commentary describing a play by Marius von Mayenburg (Der Hässliche (The Ugly One) in case anyone is interested).


Priciest - most pricey!

...and the prettiest package is the priciest. (alliteration as a bonus!)

Not in the OED but common in my experience, and covered in both British English (Collins) and American English (Merriam-Webster) dictionaries:

https://www.collinsdictionary.com/dictionary/english/priciest

https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/Priciest

http://www.thefreedictionary.com/priciest


In British English, "dearest" is a word which is a direct antonym of "cheapest":

Dearest

  1. British Most expensive.

Oxford Dictionary