ill-advised
Americanadjective
adjective
-
acting without reasonable care or thought
you would be ill-advised to sell your house now
-
badly thought out; not or insufficiently considered
an ill-advised plan of action
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Etymology
Origin of ill-advised
First recorded in 1585–95
Explanation
An ill-advised decision is one that isn't smart or thoughtful. It would be ill-advised to adopt all the dogs, cats, rabbits, and guinea pigs from your local animal shelter — especially without consulting your family members first. This adjective is basically a polite way to say "just plain stupid." Political commentators may judiciously criticize a policy decision as ill-advised if they think it's a bad idea. Your mom might respond to your brother's request to let his pet chicken sleep in bed with him by calmly saying, "That would be ill-advised." The word implies that you've been given bad advice, which may be true, but it's generally your own recklessness that leads you to do something ill-advised.
Vocabulary lists containing ill-advised
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.
“It’s going to be hard to make the case that this was ill-advised because the story turned out so well.”
From Slate • May 5, 2026
“This ill-advised partnership was a blatant move to grab short-term revenue growth through channel expansion,” he continued.
From MarketWatch • Apr. 29, 2026
Guevara-Prete says the downturn caused her to lay off most of her eight employees, and ultimately, she found herself taking out a few ill-advised business loans with less-than-favorable interest rates.
From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 22, 2026
All this comes on the heels of some questionable behavior and ill-advised alliances, among them: the divorce from Sarah “Fergie” Ferguson, hanging around with Jeffrey Epstein, and the self-immolation by TV interview in 2019.
From The Wall Street Journal • Nov. 2, 2025
Her voice is just as matter of fact as ever, and my relief bubbles up in ill-advised laughter, which I swallow back down.
From "Dread Nation" by Justina Ireland
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.
