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

That arrangement, however, began to unravel after Sportico reported in late September on its financial terms, which critics viewed as disproportionately favorable to Blueprint. —Daniel Libit, Sportico.com, 29 Apr. 2026

Teams in the middle of the lottery standings would receive the most favorable odds, while the worst teams get reduced chances at the top pick. —Alejandro Avila Outkick, FOXNews.com, 29 Apr. 2026

Initial tests for the Extend and Reframe tools haven’t yielded favorable results, so Apple may have to delay those features, sources tell Gurman. —Jibin Joseph, PC Magazine, 29 Apr. 2026

At the time the bequest was announced, Lee Kun-hee’s only son and corporate heir was in prison for bribery and other crimes; some have speculated that the donation created a favorable atmosphere for his eventual presidential pardon. —Lori Waxman, Chicago Tribune, 29 Apr. 2026