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.
Others aren’t opposed to raising rates eventually but see a mistake in moving if monthly price readings continue to break in a more favorable direction, as they did in June and July.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 30, 2026
Researchers also found that these soils contained the highest amounts of organic matter, creating favorable conditions for earthworms, fungi, bacteria, and other organisms that live in soil.
From Science Daily ● Aug. 28, 2026
This region is especially useful for powerful space observatories because it provides a favorable environment for continuously observing the universe.
From Science Daily ● Aug. 26, 2026
It is also important to identify what we call deal-breakers — factors that automatically rule out a location no matter how favorable everything else seems to be.
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 25, 2026
Only by taking account of such life forces and by cautiously seeking to guide them into channels favorable to ourselves can we hope to achieve a reasonable accommodation between the insect hordes and ourselves.
From "Silent Spring" by Rachel Carson
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.
