ill afford
idiom
: to be unable to afford : to be unable to do (something) without having problems or being seriously harmed
She bought a new car, which she could ill afford.
We can ill afford more bad publicity.
Examples of ill afford in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
With its ambitious climate goals, California can ill afford to discourage people from helping reduce the impacts of a warming planet.
—
Julie Lynem, The Mercury News, 12 Apr. 2024
Israel, already clashing with Hezbollah militants at its northern border and facing widespread reproach for killing 25,000 Palestinians in its response to the Oct. 7 Hamas attacks, can ill afford to alienate Egypt.
—John Bacon, USA TODAY, 25 Jan. 2024
Meanwhile, China’s economy can ill afford any additional negative pressure, even at the margin.
—Milton Ezrati, Forbes, 15 Feb. 2024
Those are readers the paper can ill afford to alienate.
—Jason McGahan, The Hollywood Reporter, 18 Jan. 2024
On the day it was signed in late May, President Biden and leaders around Europe threatened sanctions that Uganda, which has an economy that lags in size behind those of Libya and Sudan, can ill afford.
—David Segal, New York Times, 19 Dec. 2023
Iranian authorities may not fully comprehend that Trump can ill afford to look weak before his base, especially during an election year.
—Puneet Talwar, Foreign Affairs, 29 June 2020
With time ticking, Trump rivals can ill afford a prolonged legal skirmish that consumes what little attention is paid the contest over the coming holiday break.
—Mark Z. Barabak, Los Angeles Times, 20 Dec. 2023
China, after all, can ill afford the loss of any business.
—Milton Ezrati, Forbes, 11 Dec. 2023
Julie Lynem, The Mercury News, 12 Apr. 2024
Israel, already clashing with Hezbollah militants at its northern border and facing widespread reproach for killing 25,000 Palestinians in its response to the Oct. 7 Hamas attacks, can ill afford to alienate Egypt.
—John Bacon, USA TODAY, 25 Jan. 2024
Meanwhile, China’s economy can ill afford any additional negative pressure, even at the margin.
—Milton Ezrati, Forbes, 15 Feb. 2024
Those are readers the paper can ill afford to alienate.
—Jason McGahan, The Hollywood Reporter, 18 Jan. 2024
On the day it was signed in late May, President Biden and leaders around Europe threatened sanctions that Uganda, which has an economy that lags in size behind those of Libya and Sudan, can ill afford.
—David Segal, New York Times, 19 Dec. 2023
Iranian authorities may not fully comprehend that Trump can ill afford to look weak before his base, especially during an election year.
—Puneet Talwar, Foreign Affairs, 29 June 2020
With time ticking, Trump rivals can ill afford a prolonged legal skirmish that consumes what little attention is paid the contest over the coming holiday break.
—Mark Z. Barabak, Los Angeles Times, 20 Dec. 2023
China, after all, can ill afford the loss of any business.
—Milton Ezrati, Forbes, 11 Dec. 2023
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'ill afford.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Dictionary Entries Near ill afford
Cite this Entry
“Ill afford.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/ill%20afford. Accessed 26 Apr. 2024.
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