unfavorable

adjective

un·​fa·​vor·​able ˌən-ˈfā-v(ə-)rə-bəl How to pronounce unfavorable (audio)
-ˈfā-vər-bəl
1
b
: expressing disapproval : negative
unfavorable reviews
2
: not propitious : disadvantageous
an unfavorable business climate
3
: not pleasing
an unfavorable feature of the plan
unfavorableness noun
unfavorably
ˌən-ˈfā-v(ə-)rə-blē How to pronounce unfavorable (audio)
-ˈfā-vər-bəl
adverb

Examples of unfavorable in a Sentence

She formed an unfavorable impression of him. the company chose to accept the unfavorable settlement rather than spend more money on legal fees
Recent Examples on the Web Going into the speech, the Web site FiveThirtyEight had Biden’s unfavorable ratings at the highest level of his Presidency, with more than fifty-six per cent disapproving of his performance in office. Susan B. Glasser, The New Yorker, 8 Mar. 2024 According to the FiveThirtyEight aggregation, Trump's favorability sits at 43.6% while his unfavorable rating is 51.9%. Jessie Opoien, Journal Sentinel, 6 Mar. 2024 The November survey showed her polling above 60% with voters, even with a 54% unfavorable rating from county Republicans. Douglas Hanks, Miami Herald, 4 Mar. 2024 Moreover, in a reelection match against Trump, who is also very unpopular, Biden can still win voters who have an unfavorable view of him. David Lauter, Los Angeles Times, 1 Mar. 2024 According to a new poll from The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research, 45% of Republicans have an unfavorable view of McConnell. Democrat-Gazette Staff From Wire Reports, arkansasonline.com, 29 Feb. 2024 The Lip Bar’s CEO, Melissa Butler, weighs in on the difficulties beauty brands are facing in an unfavorable global and domestic economy. Essence, 29 Feb. 2024 Related Articles More than 10,000 fans and several ex-A’s show unity at Fans Fest in Oakland And playing in a Triple-A ballpark in Sacramento or Salt Lake City would be unfavorable for the players, who have to sign off on such a move before the A’s could do it. Jason Mastrodonato, The Mercury News, 28 Feb. 2024 The charges are related to an incident in which former high-level employees at the company harassed a couple who included unfavorable coverage of eBay in their online newsletter. Paige McGlauflin, Fortune, 16 Jan. 2024

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'unfavorable.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

First Known Use

1548, in the meaning defined at sense 1a

Time Traveler
The first known use of unfavorable was in 1548

Dictionary Entries Near unfavorable

Cite this Entry

“Unfavorable.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/unfavorable. Accessed 19 Mar. 2024.

Kids Definition

unfavorable

adjective
un·​fa·​vor·​able ˌən-ˈfāv-(ə-)rə-bəl How to pronounce unfavorable (audio)
1
: expressing disapproval
unfavorable comments
2
: likely to make difficult or unpleasant
unfavorable weather for a camping trip
unfavorably adverb

More from Merriam-Webster on unfavorable

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