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

Light winds and relatively comfortable humidity levels should make for favorable conditions across the city and surrounding counties. — The Baltimore Sun, Baltimore Sun, 8 Sep. 2026

That session occurred on July 15, when the Intergovernmental and Economic Impact Committee advanced the rule to the Board of County Commissioners with a favorable recommendation. — Sharon Udasin, Sun Sentinel, 8 Sep. 2026

True to its name, Journeys has been on a path of reinvention in recent years that has yielded favorable results. — Jennie Bell, Footwear News, 8 Sep. 2026

It’s been generating controversy (and overwhelmingly favorable reviews) since its world premiere in 2018, followed by a 2019 UK staging at the National Theatre and the Off Broadway premiere at Playwrights Horizons in 2022. — Greg Evans, Deadline, 8 Sep. 2026