unfavorable

U1N1F4A1V4O1R1A1B3L1E1

A form of unfavourable — Serving to hinder or oppose; adverse, disadvantageous, inconducive, unsuitable.

Opposite
Less commonScrabble 19

Meanings

adjectiveunfavorable (comparative more unfavorable, superlative most unfavorable)

comparative more unfavorable · superlative most unfavorable

  1. USstandardUS standard spelling of unfavourable.

    Microrefugia are sites that support populations of species when their ranges contract during unfavorable climate episodes.

    2015 January 9, Kristoffer Hylander, Johan Ehrlén, Miska Luoto, Eric Meineri, “Microrefugia: Not for everyone”, in Ambio, volume 44 (supplement 1), →DOI, →PMID, pages 60–8
    1 more example

    Alternatively, unfavorable outcome with severe or even fatal consequences for the organism would be the development of fibrolipid plaque which would be prone to plaque rupture and thrombus formation [ 23 ].

    2015 June 9, Alexander N. Orekhov et al., “Development of Antiatherosclerotic Drugs on the basis of Natural Products Using Cell Model Approach”, in Oxidative Medicine and Cellular Longevity, volume 2015, →DOI

Synonyms & antonyms

adjective(of winds or weather) tending to hinder or oppose

Opposite

adjectiveinvolving or creating circumstances detrimental to success or effectiveness

Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.

Origin

  1. Proto-Indo-European*né
  2. Proto-Indo-European*n̥-
  3. Proto-Germanic*un-
  4. Proto-West Germanic*un-
  5. Old Englishun-
  6. Middle Englishun-
  7. Englishun-
  8. Englishfavorable
  9. Englishunfavorable

From un- + favorable.

Full word history & related roots →
Cite this entry
APA

unfavorable. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 4, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/unfavorable

MLA

“unfavorable.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/unfavorable. Accessed November 4, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “unfavorable,” accessed November 4, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/unfavorable.

Source: unfavorable on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.