as in darlings
a person or thing that is preferred over others
the youngest child was always Mother's favorite
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.
Read More
Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of favorites
The family-friendly concert features patriotic music honoring veterans, as well as contemporary and classical selections, movie and theater musical favorites.
—
Anne Gelhaus, Mercury News, 19 Oct. 2025
The Kansas City Chiefs are double-digit favorites, and most national experts expect Sunday’s game at GEHA Field at Arrowhead Stadium to play out with a lopsided result.
—Scott Chasen, Kansas City Star, 19 Oct. 2025
This year’s Academy Museum Gala also welcomed a strong contingent of music stars and internet favorites, including Addison Rae, Charli XCX, Ed Sheeran, Hailey Bieber, Hilary Duff, Kendall Jenner, Jenna Ortega, Olivia Rodrigo, Role Model and Selena Gomez.
—Kirsten Chuba, HollywoodReporter, 19 Oct. 2025
Granted, the Patriots entered as touchdown favorites.
—Andrew Callahan, Boston Herald, 19 Oct. 2025
Mayfield has enjoyed a career resurgence in Tampa and is one of the favorites for league MVP this year, posting 1,539 passing yards (fourth in the NFL), 12 touchdowns (tied for fourth) and just one interception.
—Rowan Fisher-Shotton, MSNBC Newsweek, 18 Oct. 2025
Classic favorites like Hocus Pocus, The Nightmare Before Christmas, or even a classic horror flick like Halloween can create a cozy, fun wind-down to the evening.
—Elizabeth Fogarty, Better Homes & Gardens, 18 Oct. 2025
The Market Kitchen rounded out the options with relaxed, modern takes on international favorites.
—Kimberly Wilson, Essence, 18 Oct. 2025
Here are a few of my personal favorites.
—Nigel Hack, Travel + Leisure, 18 Oct. 2025
Anne Gelhaus, Mercury News, 19 Oct. 2025
The Kansas City Chiefs are double-digit favorites, and most national experts expect Sunday’s game at GEHA Field at Arrowhead Stadium to play out with a lopsided result.
—Scott Chasen, Kansas City Star, 19 Oct. 2025
This year’s Academy Museum Gala also welcomed a strong contingent of music stars and internet favorites, including Addison Rae, Charli XCX, Ed Sheeran, Hailey Bieber, Hilary Duff, Kendall Jenner, Jenna Ortega, Olivia Rodrigo, Role Model and Selena Gomez.
—Kirsten Chuba, HollywoodReporter, 19 Oct. 2025
Granted, the Patriots entered as touchdown favorites.
—Andrew Callahan, Boston Herald, 19 Oct. 2025
Mayfield has enjoyed a career resurgence in Tampa and is one of the favorites for league MVP this year, posting 1,539 passing yards (fourth in the NFL), 12 touchdowns (tied for fourth) and just one interception.
—Rowan Fisher-Shotton, MSNBC Newsweek, 18 Oct. 2025
Classic favorites like Hocus Pocus, The Nightmare Before Christmas, or even a classic horror flick like Halloween can create a cozy, fun wind-down to the evening.
—Elizabeth Fogarty, Better Homes & Gardens, 18 Oct. 2025
The Market Kitchen rounded out the options with relaxed, modern takes on international favorites.
—Kimberly Wilson, Essence, 18 Oct. 2025
Here are a few of my personal favorites.
—Nigel Hack, Travel + Leisure, 18 Oct. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for favorites
Noun
-
And just like today, companies that didn’t yet turn a profit were some of the darlings of Wall Street.—
Christine Romans,
NBC news,
15 Oct. 2025
-
According to HockeyStatCards, which combines data from Natural Stat Trick and Dom Luszczyszyn’s Game Score model, Sebrango and Nikolas Matinpalo were far from analytical darlings.—
Julian McKenzie,
New York Times,
10 Oct. 2025
Noun
-
Xcel officials said customers in the potential outage areas should assemble an outage kit and update their account communications preferences to receive updates.—
Lauren Penington,
Denver Post,
19 Oct. 2025
-
Our egos and self-interests and preferences and quirks – these are very difficult to blend in a cohesive fashion.—
Nick Tzitzon,
Fortune,
18 Oct. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Favorites.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/favorites. Accessed 27 Oct. 2025.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share