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disfavor

[dis-fey-ver]
noun
  1. unfavorable regard; displeasure; disesteem; dislike: The prime minister incurred the king's disfavor.
  2. the state of being regarded unfavorably; disrepute: The fashions of one year are in disfavor the next.
  3. a disadvantageous or detrimental act; disservice: The pianist did himself a disfavor in trying to sing.
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verb (used with object)
  1. to regard or treat with disfavor.
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Also especially British, dis·fa·vour.

Origin of disfavor

First recorded in 1525–35; dis-1 + favor
Related formsdis·fa·vor·er, noun
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Examples from the Web for disfavour

Historical Examples

  • Favour for a person will exalt the one, as disfavour will sink the other.

    Clarissa, Volume 1 (of 9)

    Samuel Richardson

  • Arguments she has used to herself in his favour, and in his disfavour.

    Clarissa, Volume 1 (of 9)

    Samuel Richardson

  • A prejudice in favour is as hard to be totally overcome as a prejudice in disfavour.

    Clarissa, Volume 3 (of 9)

    Samuel Richardson

  • The voices that once spoke in his praise are loud in his disfavour.

    Henry Dunbar

    M. E. Braddon

  • But it is not the cloth trade alone in which it has fallen into disfavour.

British Dictionary definitions for disfavour

disfavour

US disfavor

noun
  1. disapproval or dislike
  2. the state of being disapproved of or disliked
  3. an unkind act
  4. a damaging or disadvantageous effect; detriment
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verb
  1. (tr) to regard or treat with disapproval or dislike
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Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for disfavour

chiefly British English spelling of disfavor (q.v.); for ending, see -or. Related: Disfavoured; disfavouring.

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disfavor

n.

1530s; see dis- "the opposite of" + favor (n.). As a verb, from 1560s. Related: Disfavored; disfavoring.

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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper