Which to use
“afford” and “affords” are a confusable English pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #2,609
- “afford” frequency rank
- #27,044
- “affords” frequency rank
- 29653
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | afford | affords |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | To incur, stand, or bear without serious detriment, as an act which might under other circumstances be injurious; (usually after an expression of ability, as could, able, difficult) to be able or rich enough; to spare. | third-person singular simple present indicative of afford |
Where the spellings diverge
Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set afford and affords apart are highlighted. They share 6 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
A purely visual mix-up. afford (/əˈfoɹd/) and affords (/əˈfɔɹdz/) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they differ by 1 extra letter(s) - “afford” sits inside “affords”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 29653, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
afford is recorded at frequency rank #2,609, classified as averb, pronounced /əˈfoɹd/. affords is at rank #27,044, tagged as averb, pronounced /əˈfɔɹdz/.
Glosses for this pair are partially populated in our dataset, but the full side-by-side definitions above should still guide you to the right choice.
With a confusion score of 29653, this pair ranks #361,174 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of afford vs affords
Shared letters: adfor. Private to "afford": -. Private to "affords": s.
"afford" · 6 letters · shape VCCVCC · "affords" · 7 letters · shape VCCVCCC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequency comparison
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "afford" and "affords" be used interchangeably?
Which is more common, "afford" or "affords"?
Remembering afford vs affords
The fastest way to pick the right one every time.
- Read both glosses above and match the meaning you intend, only context separates this pair.
- See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “afford” entry
- Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable