Synonyms of favorable

favorable

adjective

ˈfā-v(ə-)rə-bəl 

1

as in positive

expressing approval

favorable reviews for the movie were few

Synonyms & Similar Words

• positive
• good
• appreciative
• approving
• friendly
• complimentary
• commendatory
• supportive
• admiring
• accepting
• warm
• approbatory
• sympathetic
• applauding
• laudatory
• flattering
• respectful
• praiseful
• eulogistic
• hagiographic
• encomiastic
• worshipful
• panegyrical
• adulatory
• advisory
• adoring
• laudative
• recommendatory
• worshipping
• idolizing

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• unfavorable
• negative
• adverse
• unfriendly
• derogatory
• unflattering
• uncomplimentary
• disapproving
• unappreciative
• depreciatory
• depreciative
• critical
• inappreciative
• captious
• hypercritical
• overcritical
• censuring
• faultfinding
• contemptuous
• disparaging
• scornful
• disdainful
• slighting
• carping
• belittling
• caviling

2

as in promising

pointing toward a happy outcome

favorable economic conditions for opening a new business

Synonyms & Similar Words

• promising
• encouraging
• bright
• happy
• hopeful
• propitious
• golden
• lucky
• auspicious
• beneficial
• fortunate
• advantageous
• profitable
• heartening
• fortuitous
• prosperous
• providential
• salutary

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• unfavorable
• discouraging
• unpropitious
• inauspicious
• dim
• unpromising
• hopeless
• unfortunate
• disheartening
• unhappy
• unlucky
• disastrous
• fatal
• catastrophic
• ruinous
• calamitous
• futureless
• dark
• ill
• ominous
• threatening
• gloomy
• sinister
• dire
• menacing
• portentous
• direful
• baleful
• foreboding
• minatory
• ill-boding
• doomy

3

as in beneficial

promoting or contributing to personal or social well-being

moved to a region with a milder climate in the hope that it would be more favorable to his health

Synonyms & Similar Words

• beneficial
• helpful
• good
• profitable
• advantageous
• friendly
• satisfying
• desirable
• beneficent
• salutary
• kindly
• benignant
• benefic
• lucrative
• promising
• propitious
• rewarding
• gratifying
• healthy
• auspicious
• supportive
• healthful
• advisable
• wholesome
• constructive
• gainful
• remunerative
• salubrious
• ameliorative
• salutiferous
• bettering
• amelioratory

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• unfavorable
• bad
• disadvantageous
• unfriendly
• unprofitable
• unhelpful
• harmful
• injurious
• deleterious
• damaging
• insalubrious

Synonym Chooser

How is the word favorable different from other adjectives like it?

The words auspicious and propitious are common synonyms of favorable. While all three words mean "pointing toward a happy outcome," favorable implies that the persons involved are approving or helpful or that the circumstances are advantageous.

favorable weather conditions

When is auspicious a more appropriate choice than favorable?

In some situations, the words auspicious and favorable are roughly equivalent. However, auspicious applies to something taken as a sign or omen promising success before or at the start of an event.

an auspicious beginning

When is it sensible to use propitious instead of favorable?

While in some cases nearly identical to favorable, propitious may also apply to beginnings but often implies a continuing favorable condition.

a propitious time for starting a business

Example Sentences

Recent Examples of favorable

This countered the favorable conditions previously established under the Reciprocity treaties and drove down the value of Hawaii’s sugar exports in the following years, negatively impacting the business owners. — Britannica Editors, Encyclopedia Britannica, 14 July 2026

This area is at moderate risk of excessive rainfall, its second-highest category, indicating that conditions are favorable for significant flooding. — Brandi D. Addison, USA Today, 14 July 2026

On top of favorable award prices, Aeroplan also has reasonable award fees and several useful features. — Jason Stauffer, CNBC, 13 July 2026

The longer leaves stay wet, the more time conditions stay favorable for pathogens to take hold. — Erica Browne Grivas, Better Homes & Gardens, 12 July 2026