Disfavour

//dɪsˈfeɪvə(ɹ)// noun, verb

noun, verb ·Uncommon ·Advanced level

Definitions

Noun
  1. 1
    Lack of favour; displeasure. UK, countable, uncountable

    "His lateness for the appointment incurred her disfavour."

  2. 2
    an inclination to withhold approval from some person or group wordnet
  3. 3
    An unkindness; a disobliging act. UK, countable, uncountable

    "He might dispense favours and disfavours according to his own election."

  4. 4
    the state of being out of favor wordnet
  5. 5
    A state of being out of favour. UK, countable, uncountable

    "The term “insane asylum” fell into disfavour long ago, but asylum is what some mentally ill people need."

Verb
  1. 1
    To show lack of favour or antipathy towards. UK

    "Her past performance meant that she was often disfavoured for important tasks."

  2. 2
    put at a disadvantage; hinder, harm wordnet

Synonyms

All synonyms
disadvantagedisadvantagedisapprovaldiscriminatediscriminatedisfavor

Antonyms

All antonyms
favour

Example

More examples

"He is in disfavour with his superiors."

Etymology

From English dis- + favour, from Middle French desfaveur.

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Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.