Definition of AFFORD

Choose the Right Synonym for afford

give, present, donate, bestow, confer, afford mean to convey to another as a possession. give, the general term, is applicable to any passing over of anything by any means. give alms gave her a ride on a pony give my love to your mother present carries a note of formality and ceremony. present an award donate is likely to imply a publicized giving (as to charity). donate a piano to the orphanage bestow implies the conveying of something as a gift and may suggest condescension on the part of the giver. bestow unwanted advice confer implies a gracious giving (as of a favor or honor). confer an honorary degree afford implies a giving or bestowing usually as a natural or legitimate consequence of the character of the giver. the trees afford shade a development that affords us some hope

Examples of afford in a Sentence

We were too poor to afford a doctor. He'll be able to afford a house next year. Don't spend more than you can afford. They couldn't afford new coats for the children. We can afford waiting a while longer. All of the rooms afford views of the lake. He was afforded the opportunity to work for a judge.

Recent Examples on the Web

Promised back in summer of 2014 as a $35,000 EV that would be accessible to far more drivers than could afford previous Teslas, the 3 is here. — Eric Limer, Popular Mechanics, "Watch Google's Pixel 3 Reveal Event Here, Live," 9 Oct. 2018 Stars would be spread around the league, because teams could not afford more than two. — Michael Rosenberg, SI.com, "One Big Question Must Be Answered Before the NBA Can Correct Its Competitive Balance," 10 July 2018 The fact his appeal was not heard for want of a court transcript which Jameson could not afford struck him as unfair. — Greg Moran, sandiegouniontribune.com, "State high court strikes down rule requiring poor to pay for own court reporter in civil courts," 6 July 2018 Of the 5,500 housing-unit building permits issued by the city between 2015 and 2017, only 98 were for apartments or houses that people with salaries in the minimum wage range or a little higher could afford, according to a city review. — Tony Bizjak And Ryan Lillis, sacbee, "Sacramento approved 5,500 housing units. Less than 100 were for low-income residents," 5 July 2018 So horses and wagons or carriages continued to be the norm, until Henry Ford got the price of his Model T down to $495 and the masses could finally afford to make the shift to automobiles. — Ed Wallace, star-telegram, "Little Shared Vehicles," 29 June 2018 This rate not only prices out many families—only 15% of San Francisco county residents could afford a median-price home in the first quarter of this year—but also represents a massive increase in living costs overall in the Bay Area. — Natasha Bach, Fortune, "Making a Six-Figure Salary in San Francisco? Your Family May Still Be Considered 'Low Income'," 28 June 2018 The property is actually a patchwork of 17 lots with six residential tracts that afford the possibility of constructing up to six houses of 50,000 square feet each, a total of 300,000 square feet. — Alex Bhattacharji, Town & Country, "An Empty Lot Above Beverly Hills Is the Most Expensive Real Estate in the World," 17 Jan. 2019 Drivers are cautioned not to wait for the system’s alerts before braking, as that may not afford sufficient time and distance to brake safely. — Popular Mechanics Editors, Popular Mechanics, "The All-New 2019 Mercedes-Benz Sprinter Is Pushing Commercial Utility Into the Future," 1 Dec. 2018

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'afford.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

History and Etymology for afford

respelling (after Latin borrowings with initial aff-) of Middle English iforthen, aforthen, going back to Old English geforðian "to send out, promote, carry out," from ge-, perfective prefix + forðian "to send out, promote," verbal derivative of forþ "forth, forward" — more at co-, forth entry 1

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