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

At the same time, health care insurance is becoming increasingly difficult to afford. — Paul Seward, STAT, "Emergency departments: the ‘chewing gum and duct tape’ holding together U.S. health care," 3 July 2018 Many who have stayed behind struggle to afford supplies of food and medicine, while nationwide power outages this month have exacerbated widespread misery. — Christopher Torchia, The Seattle Times, "Red Cross ready to aid Venezuela, warns against politics," 29 Mar. 2019 Although there are millions of Princess Diana fans, there are relatively few people with the funds to afford a gown like this. — Kayleigh Roberts, Marie Claire, "A Princess Diana Dress That Was Bought Used for £200 in 1994 Is Now On Sale for £100K," 2 Dec. 2018 In Georgia, 14 percent of households are food insecure or struggle to afford a nutritionally adequate diet, according to data from the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities. — Nedra Rhone, ajc, "Study: Minority of SNAP recipients spend benefits early in the month," 10 July 2018 According to a California Housing Partnership Corporation report, an Oakland resident needs to earn almost $50/hour to afford median rent in the city today. — Joseph Bien-kahn, WIRED, "Radical As Ever, Boots Riley Takes On the Tech Boom," 4 July 2018 One family gave out free lemonade, asking only for donations to be made to 2nd Chance, a scholarship fund for students who couldn't otherwise afford higher education. — Cortlynn Stark, Hana Muslic, Katie Bernard And Edward Mckinley, kansascity, "From Prairie Village to Parkville, KC area celebrates the Fourth," 4 July 2018 Unable to afford therapy (because Medicaid stopped paying for it), Hogancamp developed his own elaborate form of it: Creating an elaborate fantasy world in his own backyard, with the help of dolls. — Alissa Wilkinson, Vox, "Before you see Welcome to Marwen, stream the documentary about the true story behind it," 21 Dec. 2018 But after the 2008 crash, those same people often found themselves in a bind, unable to afford the cost of a second home, yet facing a depressed real estate market where selling a vacation property would have meant taking a significant loss. — Patrick Sisson, Curbed, "How vacation homes went from private escape to investment opportunities," 2 Oct. 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