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favor

[ fey-ver ]

Phonetic (Standard)IPA

noun

something done or granted out of goodwill, rather than from justice or for remuneration; a kind act:
to ask a favor.
friendly or well-disposed regard; goodwill:
to win the favor of the king.
Antonyms: ,
the state of being approved or held in regard:
to be in favor at court; styles that are now in favor.
excessive kindness or unfair partiality; preferential treatment:
to treat some people with favor and others with neglect.
a gift bestowed as a token of goodwill, kind regard, love, etc., as formerly upon a knight by his lady.
Synonyms:
a ribbon, badge, etc., worn in evidence of goodwill or loyalty, as by an adherent of a political party.
a small gift or decorative or festive item, as a noisemaker or paper hat, often distributed to guests at a party.
Usually favors. sexual intimacy, especially as permitted by a woman.
Archaic. a letter, especially a commercial one.

verb (used with object)

to regard with favor:
to favor an enterprise.
Synonyms: , ,
Antonyms:
to prefer; treat with partiality:
The father favored his younger son.
to show favor to; oblige:
The king favored him with an audience.
Synonyms: ,
to be favorable to; facilitate:
The wind favored their journey.
to deal with, treat, or use gently:
to favor a lame leg.
to aid or support:
He favored his party's cause with ample funds.
Synonyms: ,
to bear a physical resemblance to; resemble:
to favor one's father's side of the family.

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Other Word Forms

�ڲ�v�ǰ�·�� noun
��v��·�ڲ�v�ǰ� verb (used with object)
��·�ڲ�v�ǰ� noun verb (used with object)
�ܲ�·�ڲ�v�ǰ�·��Բ� adjective

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Word History and Origins

Origin of favor¹

First recorded in 1350–1400; Middle English favo(u)r, from Anglo-French, Old French, from Latin �ڲ��ō��- (stem of favor ) “goodwill,” derivative of �ڲ��ŧ�� “to be favorably inclined” + -ō��- -or ¹

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Idioms and Phrases

Idioms

find favor with, to gain the favor of; be liked by:
The play found favor with the opening-night audience.
in favor of,
1. on the side of; in support of:
  to be in favor of reduced taxation.
2. to the advantage of.
3. (of a check, draft, etc.) payable to:
  Make out your checks in favor of the corporation.
in one's favor, to one's credit or advantage:
All the comments were in your favor.
out of favor, no longer liked or approved; no longer popular or fashionable:
He's out of favor with the president and may soon be fired.

More idioms and phrases containing favor

see curry favor ; in favor of ; in favor with ; in one's favor ; out of favor ; return the compliment (favor) .

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Synonym Study

Favor, goodwill imply a kindly regard or friendly disposition shown by an individual or group. Favor may be merely an attitude of mind: to look with favor on a proposal. Goodwill is more active and leads often to outward manifestations of friendly approval: By frequent applause the audience showed its goodwill toward the speaker.

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Example Sentences

Examples have not been reviewed.

The silver lining for Trump is that the opposition party remains out of favor.

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Calderon is sponsoring legislation favored by Edison that would slash the credits that many homeowners receive for generating electricity with rooftop solar panels.

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So for the Clippers, this fifth game is about tilting the odds back in their favor and the only way to do that is to win Game 5 in Denver on Tuesday night.

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Rzeznik: It wound up working in our favor, but we didn’t fit into the grunge thing, we didn’t fit into the alt-rock thing, we didn’t fit into mainstream music.

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HBO knew these precedents made a ruling in their favor likely, just as it probably understood that settling with Murray would be a terrible look for the company and Oliver’s show.

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Related Words

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

Favonius favorable

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