EN

Synonyms for unfavorable

25 synonyms
20 antonyms
1 meaning

adjective
American English

Most common

negative adverse bad contrary

All synonyms

Adjective

1. Negative — not auspicious; ill-boding

negative, adverse, bad, contrary, inauspicious, hostile, untoward, unfriendly, poor, unfortunate, inferior, inimical, ill, injurious, baneful, dire, unpromising, repugnant, foul, hard, sinister, rueful

Other

disadvantageous, disapproving, unconducive

Antonyms

positive, favorable, favourable

All antonyms of unfavorable →

Definitions

adj. 1
Not auspicious; ill-boding.

Related words

Word family: unfavorableness
Other spellings: unfavourable UK

Example sentences

negative Positive atomic nuclei attract negative electrons.
contrary They say he is guilty, but I believe the contrary.
adverse Many intelligent people are not adverse to sex.
disapproving Ziri looked at Rima with disapproving eyes.
disadvantageous A life of solitude isn't necessarily entirely disadvantageous.

Popularity over time

Word	1850 → 2019	Trend
unfavorable		falling
negative		rising
contrary		falling
adverse		steady
inauspicious		rising
disapproving		steady

Use in printed books, per decade from 1850 to 2019.

By length

3 letters: bad¹, ill¹
4 letters: hard¹, poor¹, foul¹, dire¹
6 letters: rueful²
7 letters: hostile², adverse², baneful
8 letters: negative³, contrary³, inferior⁴, sinister³, untoward³, inimical⁴
9 letters: repugnant³, injurious⁴
10 letters: unfriendly³
11 letters: unfortunate⁴, unpromising⁴, unconducive
12 letters: disapproving⁴, inauspicious⁴
15 letters: disadvantageous⁵

The small number after each word is its number of syllables (rueful² = 2 syllables).

In other languages

Français: défavorable
Italiano: sfavorevole
Español: desfavorable
Català: infaust