favorable

English

Etymology

From Middle English favourable, from Old French favorable, from Latin favōrābilis, from favor. By surface analysis, favor +‎ -able.

Pronunciation

• (General American) IPA^(key): /ˈfeɪ.vɚ.əbl/

• Audio (US):

  (file)

• Hyphenation: fav‧or‧able

Adjective

favorable (comparative more favorable, superlative most favorable)

1. US standard spelling of favourable.
   • 1871, Ohio State Medical Society, Transactions of the Annual Meeting, page 135:

     The conditions favorable to health and life of the indigines of the poles or the north temperate zones are destructive to the indigines of the tropical, and vice versa.

Derived terms

• favorability
• favorableness
• nonfavorable
• unfavorable

Related terms

• favor
• favorably
• favorite

Translations

favourable — see favourable

Catalan

Etymology

Learned borrowing from Latin favorābilis.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): (Northern, Central) [fə.βuˈɾab.blə]
• IPA^(key): (Balearic) [fə.voˈɾab.blə]
• IPA^(key): (Valencia) [fa.voˈɾa.ble]
• IPA^(key): (Northwestern) [fa.βoˈɾab.ble]

• Audio (Barcelona):

  (file)

Adjective

favorable m or f (masculine and feminine plural favorables)

1. favourable

Derived terms

• favorablement

Further reading

• “favorable”, in Diccionari de la llengua catalana [Dictionary of the Catalan Language] (in Catalan), second edition, Institute of Catalan Studies [Catalan: Institut d'Estudis Catalans], April 2007
• “favorable”, in Gran Diccionari de la Llengua Catalana, Grup Enciclopèdia Catalana, 2026
• “favorable” in Diccionari normatiu valencià, Acadèmia Valenciana de la Llengua.
• Alcover, Antoni Maria; Moll, Francesc de Borja (1963), “favorable”, in Diccionari català-valencià-balear (in Catalan)

French

Etymology

From Latin favorābilis.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /fa.vɔ.ʁabl/

• Audio:

  (file)

• Audio (Switzerland (Valais)):

  (file)

• Audio (France (Vosges)):

  (file)

• Hyphenation: fa‧vo‧rable

Adjective

favorable (plural favorables)

1. favourable, favorable

   Antonym: hostile

   • 1874, François P. L. Pollen, D. C. van Dam, Recherches sur la Faune de Madagascar et de ses dépendances, page 30:

     Dès qu'ils aperçoivent un caret ou une tortue franche, ils tachent de les avoir à portée et dans le moment favorable ils lancent avec une adresse étonnante un des harpons en visant sur la tête ou la queue pour ne pas dommager les plaques latérales; qui dans les carets font la valeur de l'animal.

     As soon as they spot a loggerhead turtle or a green sea turtle, they try to get it within range, and when the time is right they launch with astonishing dexterity one of the harpoons, aiming for the head or the tail so as not to damage the side plates, which in turtles the value of the animal is found.

Related terms

• faveur
• favorablement

Further reading

• “favorable”, in Trésor de la langue française informatisé [Digitized Treasury of the French Language], 2012

Galician

Alternative forms

• favorábel
• favorável (reintegrationist)

Etymology

Etymology tree

Proto-Indo-European *bʰuH-der.?

Proto-Indo-European *bʰeh₂-

Proto-Indo-European *bʰh₂weh₁yetider.?

Proto-Indo-European *gʷʰew-der.?

Latin faveō

Proto-Indo-European *-os

Proto-Indo-European *-s

Proto-Indo-European *-ōs

Proto-Italic *-ōs

Latin -or

Latin favor

Proto-Indo-European *-dʰlom

Proto-Italic *-ðlom

Proto-Italic *-ðlis

Latin -bilis

Latin -ābilis

Latin favorabilisder.

Galician favorable

Derived from Latin favorabilis.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /faboˈɾable/ [fa.β̞oˈɾa.β̞lɪ]
• Rhymes: -able
• Hyphenation: fa‧vo‧ra‧ble

Adjective

favorable m or f (plural favorables)

1. favorable

Derived terms

• favorablemente

Further reading

• “favorable”, in Dicionario da Real Academia Galega (in Galician), A Coruña: Royal Galician Academy, 2012–2026

Middle English

Adjective

favorable

1. alternative form of favourable

Occitan

Etymology

From Latin favorabilis.

Pronunciation

• Audio (Béarn):

  (file)

Adjective

favorable m (feminine singular favorabla, masculine plural favorables, feminine plural favorablas)

1. favorable

Derived terms

• desfavorable
• favorablament

Spanish

Etymology

Etymology tree

Proto-Indo-European *bʰuH-der.?

Proto-Indo-European *bʰeh₂-

Proto-Indo-European *bʰh₂weh₁yetider.?

Proto-Indo-European *gʷʰew-der.?

Latin faveō

Proto-Indo-European *-os

Proto-Indo-European *-s

Proto-Indo-European *-ōs

Proto-Italic *-ōs

Latin -or

Latin favor

Proto-Indo-European *-dʰlom

Proto-Italic *-ðlom

Proto-Italic *-ðlis

Latin -bilis

Latin -ābilis

Latin favorābilisder.

Spanish favorable

Derived from Latin favorābilis.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /faboˈɾable/ [fa.β̞oˈɾa.β̞le]

• Audio (Colombia):

  (file)

• Rhymes: -able
• Syllabification: fa‧vo‧ra‧ble

Adjective

favorable m or f (masculine and feminine plural favorables)

1. favorable

Derived terms

• favorablemente

Further reading

• “favorable”, in Diccionario de la lengua española [Dictionary of the Spanish Language] (in Spanish), online version 23.8.1, Royal Spanish Academy [Spanish: Real Academia Española], 15 December 2025