Unfavorable

How to spell unfavorable

11 letters · 5 syllables

How to pronounce unfavorable

Say the part in capitals loudest.

What does unfavorable mean?

1. adjectiveNot advantageous, approving, or likely to lead to a good outcome.

Unfavorable in a sentence

• The bank rejected the application after an unfavorable credit review.

• Unfavorable weather forced the construction crew to halt work for a week.

Where does unfavorable come from?

Language of origin: Latin

This word is built on 'favor', which descends from the Latin favor, meaning 'goodwill', 'kindness', or 'support', a noun related to the verb favere, 'to be well disposed toward'. English borrowed 'favour' through Old French in the medieval period, and the adjective 'favorable' (something inclined to help or approve) followed soon after. Adding the native negative prefix 'un-' simply reverses the sense, producing 'not favorable', that is, disadvantageous or hostile. The spelling shown here is the American form, which dropped the 'u' that British and Canadian writers keep in 'unfavourable', following Noah Webster's nineteenth century reforms that simplified the Latin-by-way-of-French '-our' ending to '-or'. That missing 'u' is exactly the trap: writers exposed to both systems hesitate over whether to include it.

How the word is built

• un- (not)
• favor (from Latin favor: goodwill)
• -able (capable of/tending to)

British and American spelling

Unfavorable is the American spelling. British English spells it unfavourable.