unaffordable
Americanadjective
Explanation
If something is unaffordable, it's too expensive. A house that costs millions of dollars is unaffordable for almost everyone. This adjective often describes things that cost too much money for the average person, like unaffordable rents in a particular city or unaffordable health care. When you can afford something, it's within financial reach; you can manage to purchase it. Unaffordable things are priced too high for your budget or bank account, like those ultra-rare sneakers you covet.
Vocabulary lists containing unaffordable
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.
Because housing has become such an unaffordable asset, wealth experts are now pointing to more accessible ways to build net worth than home ownership.
From MarketWatch ● Sep. 2, 2026
It added that bills were unaffordable for millions and a "better targeted and more agile" support scheme was needed.
From BBC ● Aug. 22, 2026
Infant tuition for two had already been unaffordable, so the family placed the 1-year-olds with a nanny instead, at $7,000 a month.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 17, 2026
“A city can be booming and unaffordable at the same time. It can have ever-expanding skylines while its people live ever-shrinking lives. We are not going to pretend that that’s good enough.”
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 22, 2026
The MD offered antibiotics and antispasmodics but Jeanne had no insurance, the remedies were unaffordable.
From How and When to Be Your Own Doctor by Steve Solomon
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.
