ill-considered
Americanadjective
adjective
Etymology
Origin of ill-considered
First recorded in 1825–35
Explanation
When something is ill-considered, it hasn't been carefully thought through, like your cousin's ill-considered idea to adopt six rabbits and let them run loose around his house. The adjective ill-considered describes decisions that are made impulsively, without enough contemplation of the pros and cons. Marrying someone the day after you met them would be ill-considered, and so would jumping off the garage roof into a pile of leaves while holding an umbrella to slow your descent. If you stopped and considered the possible consequences, you'd probably make a different choice!
Vocabulary lists containing ill-considered
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
But there is a middle ground between championing Platner’s opponent and dismissing his pattern of ill-considered behavior as insignificant.
From Slate ● Jun. 2, 2026
"At a time when parents, pediatricians and the public are looking for clear guidance and accurate information, this ill-considered decision will sow further chaos and confusion and erode confidence in immunizations," Dr. Racine added.
From BBC ● Jan. 5, 2026
It was FDR’s ill-considered decision three years earlier to move the date—then observed on the last Thursday of November—that sparked Congress’s action.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 25, 2025
They dedicate enormous time and resources to sending a reporter to Brown University to stick a microphone in a 19-year-old's face, so they'll say a slightly ill-considered thing.
From Salon ● Oct. 8, 2024
Gallien wondered whether he’d picked up one of those crackpots from the lower forty-eight who come north to live out ill-considered Jack London fantasies.
From "Into the Wild" by Jon Krakauer
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
