afford

verb

af·ford | \ ə-ˈfȯrd

afforded; affording; affords

Definition of afford

1a : to manage to bear without serious detriment You can't afford to neglect your health.

b : to be able to bear the cost of can't afford to be out of work long

2 : to make available, give forth, or provide naturally or inevitably The sun affords warmth to the earth. a delay that will afford us more time

Synonyms Choose the Right Synonym More Example Sentences Learn More about afford

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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

While other networks are lucky if three of their pilots make it through the end of their first season, Netflix can afford to experiment with dozens (if not hundreds) of new projects and tap into different markets. — refinery29.com, "Netflix Beat HBO For Most Emmy Nominations For The First Time In 18 Years," 12 July 2018 Those who can afford it buy cars; 70% of the city's greenhouse gas emissions come from vehicles, Sheinbaum Pardo says. — Lizzie Wade, Science | AAAS, "Can this environmental engineer—now elected mayor—fix Mexico City?," 2 July 2018 Customization, of cars and one's character, is available, and, as way of simple wish fulfillment for those of us who can't afford our own Audi or aerobatic aircraft, painting your new whip glaringly loud shade of yellow is always enjoyable. — Patrick Shanley, The Hollywood Reporter, "'The Crew 2': Game Review," 27 June 2018 Kate went for a sensible, somber palette over the weekend, but the Tusk Awards afforded her the opportunity to recycle a teal Jenny Peckham gown. — Chloe Foussianes, Town & Country, "Kate Middleton Recycles a Blue Coat-Dress for an Outing in South Yorkshire," 14 Nov. 2018 Rodriguez had attended college, which had afforded her more options in life. — Alice Driver, Longreads, "The Road to Asylum," 30 June 2018 And very grateful for everything that RuPaul, VH1, and the fans have afforded me over the past year. — Joe Lynch, Billboard, "'Drag Race' Winner Aquaria Talks Victory, Melania Trump & That Butterfly Snafu," 29 June 2018 But with a stock still at a historically low valuation of under 11 times forward earnings, Broadcom investors can afford to hang on for the ride. — Dan Gallagher, WSJ, "Broadcom’s Chips Keep Cashing In," 6 Dec. 2018 Riding high on all that praise, season two essentially affords Sherman-Palladino the chance to make the most Amy Sherman-Palladino show of all time. — Todd Vanderwerff, Vox, "The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel season 2 is a dazzling confection with a slightly bitter aftertaste," 5 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