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).
Best Answer
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