favor

Syllables: fa·vor/ˈfeɪ.və//ˈfeɪ.vɚ/

favor noun: a kind or helpful deed; an instance of voluntarily assisting (someone).

Noun

favor (countable and uncountable, plural favors)

A kind or helpful deed; an instance of voluntarily assisting (someone).
- He did me a favor when he took the time to drive me home.
Synonyms:

service
Goodwill; benevolent regard.
- She enjoyed the queen's favor.
- to fall out of favor
A small gift; a party favor.
- wedding favor
- At the holiday dinner, the hosts had set a favor by each place setting.
Mildness or mitigation of punishment; lenity.
- I could not discover the lenity and favour of this sentence.1726 October 28, [Jonathan Swift], Travels into Several Remote Nations of the World. […] [Gulliver’s Travels], volume I, London: […] Benj[amin] Motte, […], →OCLC, part I (A Voyage to Lilliput)
The object of regard; person or thing favoured.
- All these his wondrous works, but chiefly man, / His chief delight and favour.1667, John Milton, “Book III”, in Paradise Lost. […], London: […] [Samuel Simmons], and are to be sold by Peter Parker […]; [a]nd by Robert Boulter […]; [a]nd Matthias Walker, […], →OCLC; republished...
(obsolete) Appearance; look; countenance; face.
- This boy is fair, of female favour.c. 1598–1600 (date written), William Shakespeare, “As You Like It”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount...
Partiality; bias
(archaic) A letter, a written communication.
- I will now take some notice of your last favour; but being so far behind-hand with you, must be brief.1748, [Samuel Richardson], “Letter LXVIII”, in Clarissa. Or, The History of a Young Lady: […], volume (please specify |volume=I to VII), London: […] S[amuel] Richardson; [a]nd sold by John Osborn...
(Northern England, archaic) A resemblance, likeness.
(obsolete) Anything worn publicly as a pledge of a woman's favor.
- James probably saw the family treasures, which included a little pair of gloves embroidered with pearls and the device of a lion, a lady's favour, said to have been taken from Harry Hotspur before the battle of Otterburn in 1388.1977, K.M. Elizabeth Murray, Caught in the Web of Words, Oxford: Oxford University Press, page 13
(historical) A ribbon or similar small item that is worn as an adornment, especially in celebration of an event.
- The bride favors, or true love knots, ancient symbols of love, faith, and friendship, pointing out the indisssoluble tie of affection and duty, did not, as might be supposed, take their name of true love knots from the words "true" and "love,", but from the Danish verb "Trulofa," that is, "I plight...1853 May, E.R. Bowen, “Bride-Maids and Bride-Cake”, in Peterson's Magazine, volume 23, number 5, page 306
- Of all the new war cotillion favors yet devised there is hardly anything more novel than these. Aigrettes that are bunches of ribbons, red, white and blue, designed to be pinned in the hair at once, make up another favor.1898, Melvin Ballou Gilbert, The Director - Volume 1, page 210

Verb

favor (third-person singular simple present favors, present participle favoring, simple past and past participle favored)

To look upon fondly; to prefer.
- And the angel came in unto her, and said, Hail, thou that art highly favored, the Lord is with thee: blessed art thou among women.1611, The Holy Bible, […] (King James Version), London: […] Robert Barker, […], →OCLC, Luke 1:28
- Even in an era when individuality in dress is a cult, his clothes were noticeable. He was wearing a hard hat of the low round kind favoured by hunting men, and with it a black duffle-coat lined with white.1963, Margery Allingham, chapter 6, in The China Governess: A Mystery, London: Chatto & Windus, →OCLC
To use more often.
- […] alone, without having to favor his right, uninjured leg, […]2007, Bert Casper, Shadow Upon the Dream: Book 1: Barrûn, page 537
To encourage, conduce to
- These [boys being groomed as prostitutes] are sold by their parents (sometimes stolen from them), about the age of 4, and educated, while they are also subjected to a special physical training, which includes massage of the gluteal regions to favor development, dilatation of the anus, and epilation...1927, Havelock Ellis, Studies in the Psychology of Sex, Volume 2 (of 6)
To do a favor [noun sense 1] for; to show beneficence toward.
- Would you favor us with a poetry reading?
(including Southern US and Cajun) To resemble; especially, to look like (another person).
- I thought—it doesn't matter—you seemed to favour your ma,1896, Rudyard Kipling, The Mary Gloster
- You’re complected like your pa. He had red hair. But you favor your ma in your eyes and mouth.1915, L. M. Montgomery, Anne of the Island
To treat or use (something) gently
- I always try to favor my bad knee.

Proper noun capitalized: Favor

Favor (plural Favors)

A surname.

favor meaning in Hindi, Tamil, Bengali and Telugu

favor in Tamil

favor, grace, kindness: பிரசாதம் piracātam

favor in Bengali

আনুকূল্য, অনুগ্রহ, উপকার, দয়া, পক্ষপাত, প্রশ্রয়

favor in Telugu

to favor, to show kindness, to grant, to bestow: అనుగ్రహించు anugrahiñcu
favor, grace, mercy: అనుగ్రహము anugrahamu
favor, kindness, grace, regard: దయ daya

More languagesFewer languages

favor in Malayalam: പ്രീതി prīti
favor in Gujarati: પસાય pasāy
favor in Sanskrit: राधस् rādhas, वर vara
favor in Pashto: انعام
favor in Tagalog: paki-usap
favor in Arabic: مَعْرُوف maʕrūf, أَنْعَمَ ʔanʕama
favor in Vietnamese: ơn

Examples of favor in a sentence

Cooke's maid[…]Miss Thorn greeted her with a smile which greatly prepossessed us in her favor.1897 December (indicated as 1898), Winston Churchill, chapter V, in The Celebrity: An Episode, New York, N.Y.: The Macmillan Company...
Since the good news young folk—and old, too, for that matter—bedeck themselves with favors.1900, “From Abroad”, in The International, volume 8, page 415:
We can and should borrow choice items, such as bell pads, favors and flowered hats , which can easily be adapted […]1991, Anthony G. Barrand, Six Fools and a Dancer: The Timeless Way of the Morris, page 178:
The lovelock was thereafter called a cadcnettc and the ribbon bowknots, favors.2013, R. Turner Wilcox, The Mode in Hats and Headdress, page 109:

All 40 example sentences with favor

Synonyms of favor

1 more synonymsFewer synonyms

favoritize

Antonyms

All synonyms and antonyms of favor

Forms of favor

Noun
plural	favors
alternative Commonwealth Ireland	favour
Verb
third-person singular present	favors
present participle	favoring
past participle	favored
past	favored
Proper noun
plural	Favors

Past tense of favor: favored

Plural of favor: favors

Origin of favor

From Middle English favour, favor, faver, from Anglo-Norman favour, from mainland Old French favor, from Latin favor (“good will; kindness; partiality”), from faveō (“to be kind to”), ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *bʰeh₂weh₁yeti (“to be favourable to”), from the root Proto-Indo-European *bʰeh₂- (“to shine, glow light”). Respelled in American English to more closely match its Latin etymon. Compare also Danish favør (“favor”), Irish fabhar (“favor”), from the same Romance source.

Words formed from favor

Phrases with favor

2 more phrasesFewer phrases

Words that rhyme with favor

5 more rhymesFewer rhymes

Questions about favor

What does favor mean?: Favor means a kind or helpful deed; an instance of voluntarily assisting (someone).
What is favor in Hindi?: Favor in Hindi is एहसान (ehsān). See Favor meaning in Hindi.
How do you use favor in a sentence?: Cooke's maid[…]Miss Thorn greeted her with a smile which greatly prepossessed us in her favor.
What part of speech is favor?: Favor can be a noun, a verb or a proper noun.
How do you pronounce favor?: Favor is pronounced /ˈfeɪ.və/ (UK).
What is the plural of favor?: The plural of favor is favors.

Words near favor in the dictionary

Last updated: 2026-09-02

Pronunciation audio from Wikimedia Commons, each file under its own free license: en-us-favor.ogg, LL-Q1860 (eng)-Vealhurl-favor.wav.

Cite this entry: “favor.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/favor. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.