favor

noun

fa·vor | \ ˈfā-vər

Definition of favor

(Entry 1 of 2)

1a(1) : friendly regard shown toward another especially by a superior a politician attempting to keep the favor of the voters

(2) : approving consideration or attention : approbation looked with favor on the enterprise

b : partiality The students naturally showed favor toward their own team.

c archaic : leniency

d archaic : permission

e : popularity The fad lost favor quickly.

2 archaic

a : appearance

b(1) : face

(2) : a facial feature

3a : gracious kindness also : an act of such kindness did you a favor

b archaic : aid, assistance

c favors plural : effort in one's behalf or interest : attention vying for the king's favor

4a : a token of love (such as a ribbon) usually worn conspicuously

b : a small gift or decorative item given out at a party

c : badge

5a : a special privilege or right granted or conceded granted a favor to a dear friend

b : sexual privileges —usually used in plural

6 archaic : letter

7 : behalf, interest a man who acts only in his own favor

in favor of

1a : in accord or sympathy with

b : to the benefit of : in support of a verdict in favor of the accused

2 : to the order of

3 : in order to choose : out of preference for turned down the scholarship in favor of a pro career

in one's favor

1 : in one's good graces wanted to get back in the teacher's favor

2 : to one's advantage The judge ruled in our favor.

out of favor

: unpopular, disliked Her ideas are now out of favor.

favor

verb

favored; favoring\ ˈfā-v(ə-)riŋ

Definition of favor (Entry 2 of 2)

transitive verb

1a : to regard or treat with favor

b(1) : to do a kindness for : oblige

(2) : endow

c : to treat gently or carefully favored her injured leg

2 : to show partiality toward : prefer

3a : to give support or confirmation to : sustain

b : to afford advantages for success to : facilitate good weather favored the outing

4 : to bear a resemblance to he favors his father

Other Words from favor Synonyms & Antonyms More Example Sentences Learn More about favor

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Synonyms & Antonyms for favor

Synonyms: Noun

benevolence, boon, courtesy, grace, indulgence, kindness, mercy, service, turn

Synonyms: Verb

accommodate, oblige

Antonyms: Verb

disoblige

Examples of favor in a Sentence

Noun

I drove her to the airport because I owed her a favor. She's willing to help you but only as a favor to me. Don't do me any favors. I don't need your help. I've learned to be grateful for small favors. He's trying to earn the boss's favor by working late. The judge showed favor for the defendant. The students naturally showed favor toward their own school's team. Small boxes of candy were given out as favors at the wedding.

Verb

The teacher clearly favors you. Most voters favor these tax cuts. Her father favored the idea of her going to law school. They won the championship last year, and most forecasters favor them to win again this year.

Recent Examples on the Web: Noun

Ever the fashion maverick, singer left her sports jersey at home in favor of a more daring look: a statement bodysuit. — Vogue, "Beyoncé Ups Her Courtside Style With This Cool Parisian Label," 12 May 2019 At its annual meeting, GE said about 30% votes cast were opposed to GE’s executive-compensation plans and about 27% were in favor of separating the roles of chairman and chief executive officer. ... — Thomas Gryta, WSJ, "GE Investors Approve Executive Pay, Reject Appointing Independent Chairman," 8 May 2019 In addition, the regulation also required magnetic tape recorders be retired in favor of solid-state devices, a rule that took effect this January. — Joe Pappalardo, Popular Mechanics, "Why We Need a New Black Box," 7 May 2019 Also, Tormund is still bruised from being rejected by Brienne—or more accurately just fully ignored in favor of Jaime—and could probably use the love and loyalty of a gentle direwolf. — Emma Dibdin, Harper's BAZAAR, "Jon Snow Didn't Even Pet Ghost Goodbye in Game of Thrones Tonight," 6 May 2019 Laura Lippman was raised to excel, which meant dropping sports in favor of school work. — Laura Lippman, Glamour, "The Pleasure of Being Mediocre," 2 May 2019 As modernism gained popularity following World War II, ornamental details like parquet were often eschewed in favor of carpet, concrete, or more simple wood floors. — Hadley Keller, House Beautiful, "Parquet Flooring: What Exactly Is it?," 15 Apr. 2019 The deal, first announced Jan. 3, passed with more than 75% of shareholders voting in favor of it. — Jared S. Hopkins, WSJ, "Bristol-Myers Shareholders Approve $74 Billion Deal For Celgene," 12 Apr. 2019 The awkward encounter would have probably been forgotten, but then fellow Okie Reba decided to speak out in favor of her home state. — Megan Stein, Country Living, "Reba McEntire Had the Sassiest Response to Miranda Lambert's Public Dig at Blake Shelton," 8 Apr. 2019

Recent Examples on the Web: Verb

The coat could be something straight out of Kate Middleton’s wardrobe, as the Duchess of Cambridge often favors a statement, colorful coat for her royal appearances. — Lucy Wood, Marie Claire, "Meghan Markle Wore a Very Kate Middleton-esque, Green Embellished Erdem Coat," 11 Mar. 2019 The Army traditionally favors full-sized rifles or pistols, and now carbines. — Kyle Mizokami, Popular Mechanics, "The U.S. Army Selects New Submachine Gun," 2 Apr. 2019 But traditionalists might favor it in Silver (a glowy gray) or Charcoal (the darkest of the bunch, nearly black). — Amanda Sims, House Beautiful, "This Snakeskin Carpet is Our New Favorite Neutral," 16 Feb. 2019 As a result, most Entangled books aren’t likely to reach Amazon’s list of best-selling romance titles, which favors Kindle Unlimited titles. — Jeffrey A. Trachtenberg, WSJ, "‘They Own the System’: Amazon Rewrites Book Industry by Marching Into Publishing," 16 Jan. 2019 The net result is that disputes that normally would have been adjudicated via the public court process are often processed via private arbitration, which generally favors corporations over individuals. — Cyrus Farivar, Ars Technica, "Thousands of Google employees slam execs’ response to sexual misconduct," 1 Nov. 2018 But this district is a little better educated than Ohio as a whole, which might favor Democrats, and O’Connor has positioned himself to have a fighting chance. — Dylan Scott, Vox, "Live results for the Ohio 12th special election," 7 Aug. 2018 Until that day, though, the odds favor box office over lived experience in ways that do the movies, the culture, and us no favors. — Ty Burr, BostonGlobe.com, "Who gets to play transgender roles?," 12 July 2018 Melinda Katz, the Queens Borough president, has favored the development of a soccer stadium or a hockey arena at Willets Point. — New York Times, "Hunt for New York City F.C.’s Stadium Site Is Back Where It Began: the Bronx," 11 July 2018

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'favor.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.