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.
“Continued economic growth, resilient earnings, more reasonable valuations, and generally favorable seasonal trends and historical precedent suggest the cycle still has further room to run,” he concludes.
From MarketWatch ● Oct. 9, 2026
In the view of Steve Sosnick, chief strategist at Interactive Brokers, while the economy remains healthy, the current environment hasn’t been especially favorable for small caps.
From MarketWatch ● Oct. 7, 2026
As a country, the United States remains more popular than China, with 63 percent saying they had a favorable view of the world's top economy, compared to 58 percent for its arch-rival.
From Barron's ● Oct. 2, 2026
In mice fed a high-fat diet, a fraction containing both polyphenols and polysaccharides from white mulberry fruit produced more favorable changes in the gut microbiota than either fraction given on its own.
From Science Daily ● Sep. 30, 2026
Along the way, many pedestrians gave my semi-costume favorable notice.
From "A Confederacy of Dunces" by John Kennedy Toole
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.
