favorable
Americanadjective
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characterized by approval or support; positive.
a favorable report.
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creating or winning favor; pleasing.
to make a favorable impression.
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affording advantage, opportunity, or convenience; advantageous.
a favorable position.
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(of an answer) granting what is desired.
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boding well; propitious.
The signs are favorable for a new start.
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of favorable
First recorded in 1300–50; Middle English, from Anglo-French, Middle French, from Latin favōrābilis; equivalent to favor + -able
Explanation
The word favorable describes something positive or promising, such as a two-thumbs-up movie review or the perfect conditions for golf. When things are going well, or in your favor, they’re favorable. Favorable is an adjective that describes approval or good conditions for something. If you wrote a book, you’d want the reviews to be favorable. If the weather is favorable, it's sunny out and perfect for a picnic. If you wanted to go swimming, thunderstorms would be unfavorable: they would ruin your plans. Favorable situations make us smile.
Vocabulary lists containing favorable
"Principles of Business," Vocabulary from Chapter 3
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Content Summary G.3: Spatial Reorganization
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Charlotte's Web
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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.
Together, those characteristics give scientists an unusually favorable view for searching for vacuum birefringence around 1E 1547.
From Science Daily ● Aug. 18, 2026
Just under half of voters, 49%, have a favorable opinion of Becerra while 43% have an unfavorable view.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 13, 2026
In a recent Pew Research Center poll of 36 nations, the people in 25 of them hold a more favorable view of China than they do of the United States.
From Slate ● Aug. 13, 2026
“That is translating into signed commitments on increasingly favorable terms from a broadening set of customers and is positioning CoreWeave to gain market share for years to come.”
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 12, 2026
I said nothing, on my face I registered the bleak look of a defendant who knows the court will never be swayed by all the favorable evidence he has.
From "A Separate Peace" by John Knowles
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.
