ill-considered choice

USAGE SUMMARY

"ill-considered choice" is correct and usable in written English. You can use it to describe a decision that was made without sufficient thought or consideration. An example: "His decision to invest in that failing company was an ill-considered choice." Alternative expressions include "poorly thought-out decision" and "hasty choice."

✓ Grammatically correct

News & Media

Science

Encyclopedias

Formal & Business

Human-verified examples from authoritative sources

Exact Expressions

2 human-written examples

We deeply regret the harm done by the ill-considered choice of cover.

Science Magazine

Today's news reveals that Barack Obama also used the same phrase in his speech to AIPAC--an ill-considered choice.

Huffington Post

Human-verified similar examples from authoritative sources

Similar Expressions

58 human-written examples

Trading in ill-considered choices, they have made a habit of letting folks down — their women, their kids, their friends, their creditors and, chiefly, themselves.

The New York Times - Books

You can feel bad for a performer because she has to bear the brunt of a director's ill-considered choices, and still get out there, night after night, incarnating someone else's misguided bravado.

The New Yorker

We are reaping the results of ill-considered choices, excusing our lack of action for various reasons that never held water in the first place.

Huffington Post

Meanwhile, the public finances are improving, while the cuts have been inflicted without any apparent destruction of Britain's social fabric – even if ill-considered spending choices are accentuating inequalities and the burden is being borne by the lowest paid.

Independent

Yet in just the past few weeks we've learned about or have been reminded of a series of ill-considered, high-handed choices that Pruitt has made.

The New Yorker

It wasn't really what I had in mind, either, but the shock of marriage, pregnancy, and motherhood, along with some ill-considered real-estate choices, had left me tired and confused.

The New Yorker

Gov. Christine Todd Whitman of New Jersey has probably been dropped from the list of pro-choice alternatives because of her ill-considered frisking of a black man being held by state police.

The New York Times

"This was, in reality, a choice you made, not a sudden, ill-considered act under immediate provocation".

The Guardian

How ill-considered.

The Guardian - Books

Expert writing Tips

Best practice

Use this phrase when you want to criticize a decision professionally without resorting to overly emotional or aggressive language

Common error

Avoid pairing "ill-considered choice" with other negative adjectives that imply the same thing, such as "a bad ill-considered choice". The phrase already contains the judgment within the adjective

Linguistic Context

The phrase "ill-considered choice" acts as a noun phrase where the compound adjective "ill-considered" modifies the head noun "choice". According to Ludwig AI, this structure is standard and allows the speaker to attribute a specific quality of 'lack of deliberation' to a decision. It typically serves as the object of a verb or follows a linking verb.

Expression frequency: Rare

Frequent in

News & Media

75%

Formal & Business

15%

Science

5%

Less common in

Encyclopedias

3%

Reference

1%

Social Media

1%

Ludwig's WRAP-UP

The phrase "ill-considered choice" is a sophisticated way to describe a decision that lacks proper foresight or deliberation. According to Ludwig AI, it is most frequently utilized in high-quality journalism and formal writing to provide a measured critique of actions or policies. While the specific singular string occurs with 'Rare' frequency in the dataset compared to its plural counterpart, its grammatical structure is perfectly correct and highly effective in professional contexts. Writers should ensure they retain the hyphen in "ill-considered" to maintain grammatical standards. Overall, it serves as a precise alternative to more generic terms like "bad decision", offering a specific focus on the flawed process of thinking that preceded the act of choosing.

More alternative expressions

Phrases that express similar concepts, ordered by semantic similarity:

poorly thought-out decision

uses a more descriptive phrasal adjective to emphasize the lack of deliberation

injudicious pick

employs a more formal, academic adjective to signal a lack of good judgment

ill-advised course

shifts the focus from the act of choosing to the path or direction resulting from that choice

unwise option

replaces the active noun with a more static one while simplifying the adjective

short-sighted call

specifically highlights the lack of future planning or consideration of consequences

rash judgment

emphasizes the speed or hastiness of the decision-making process

misguided preference

suggests that the logic behind the choice was fundamentally flawed or based on wrong information

hasty move

conveys a more informal tone and suggests physical or strategic action rather than just a mental choice

imprudent selection

focuses on the lack of caution or discretion involved in the picking process

reckless action

carries a stronger connotation of danger or total disregard for negative outcomes

FAQs

How to use "ill-considered choice" in a sentence?

You can use it to describe a regrettable decision, for example: "The company's expansion into that market proved to be an "ill-considered choice" given the local economic climate".

What can I say instead of "ill-considered choice"?

Depending on your context, you can use alternatives like "<a href="/s/poorly+thought-out+decision" target="_blank" rel="alternative">poorly thought-out decision", "<a href="/s/rash+judgment" target="_blank" rel="alternative">rash judgment" or "<a href="/s/unwise+option" target="_blank" rel="alternative">unwise option".

Is "ill-considered choice" always hyphenated?

Yes, when "ill-considered choice" appears in this order, the adjective requires a hyphen because it is a compound modifier functioning as a single unit before the noun.

What is the difference between an "ill-considered choice" and a "poor choice"?

"ill-considered choice" specifically implies a lack of thought or deliberation, whereas a "<a href="/s/poor+choice" target="_blank" rel="alternative">poor choice" is a broader term that simply describes a bad outcome regardless of how much thought went into it.