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.
That throttled supply means property prices -- and therefore rents -- make up an unaffordable proportion of many people's income.
From Barron's • Jun. 7, 2026
Energy UK, which represents suppliers, said energy bills remained unaffordable for many people.
From BBC • May 26, 2026
This is still extremely unaffordable, but better than in late 2023, when the ratio hit 48%.
From The Wall Street Journal • May 26, 2026
“It was making the equipment unaffordable, and the actual benefit was nothing.”
From Los Angeles Times • May 21, 2026
The January price liberalization and a blossoming of private vendors filled shelves across the country with previously scarce food items and consumer goods, but wages lagged behind inflation, making such goods unaffordable for many consumers.
From The 1993 CIA World Factbook by United States. Central Intelligence Agency
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.
