Adjacent Words

Favor definitions

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Webster's 1828 Dictionary

FA'VOR, n. [L. favor, faveo.]
1. Kind regard; kindness; countenance; propitious aspect; friendly disposition.
His dreadful navy, and his lovely mind,
Gave him the fear and favor of mankind.
The king's favor is as dew on the grass. Proverbs 19.
God gave Joseph favor and wisdom in the sight of Pharaoh. Acts 7.
Favor is deceitful, and beauty is vain. Proverbs 31.
2. Support; defense; vindication; or disposition to aid, befriend, support, promote or justify. To be in favor of a measure, is to have a disposition or inclination to support it or carry it into effect. To be in favor or a party, is to be disposed or inclined to support it, to justify its proceedings, and to promote its interests.
3. A kind act or office; kindness done or granted; benevolence shown by word or deed; any act of grace or good will, as distinguished from acts of justice or renumeration. To pardon the guilty is a favor; to punish them is an act of justice.
4. Lenity; mildness or mitigation of punishment.
I could not discover the lenity and favor of this sentence.
5. Leave; good will; a yielding or concession to another; pardon.
But, with your favor, I will treat it here.
6. The object of kind regard; the person or thing favored.
All these his wondrous works, but chiefly man.
His chief delight and favor.
7. A gift or present; something bestowed as an evidence of good will; a token of love; a knot of ribbons; something worn as a token of affection.
8. A feature; countenance. [Not used.]
9. Advantage; convenience afforded for success. The enemy approached under favor of the night.
10. Partiality; bias. A challenge to the favor, in law, is the challenge of a juror on account of some supposed partiality, by reason of favor or malice, interest or connection.
FA'VOR, v.t.
1. To regard with kindness; to support; to aid or have the disposition to aid, or to wish success to; to be propitious to; to countenance; to befriend; to encourage. To favor the cause of a party, may be merely to wish success to it, or it may signify to give it aid, by counsel, or by active exertions. Sometimes men professedly favor one party and secretly favor another.
The lords favor thee not. 2 Samuel 29.
Thou shalt arise, and have mercy on Zion; for the time to favor her, yea, the set time is come. Psalms 102.
O happy youth! and favored of the skies.
2. To afford advantages for success; to facilitate. A weak place in the fort favored the entrance of the enemy; the darkness of the night favored his approach. A fair wind favors a voyage.
3. To resemble in features. The child favors his father.
4. To ease; to spare. A man in walking favors a lame leg.

WordNet (r) 3.0 (2005)

n
1: an act of gracious kindness [syn: favor, favour]
2: an advantage to the benefit of someone or something; "the outcome was in his favor" [syn: favor, favour]
3: an inclination to approve; "that style is in favor this season" [syn: favor, favour]
4: a feeling of favorable regard [syn: favor, favour]
5: souvenir consisting of a small gift given to a guest at a party [syn: party favor, party favour, favor, favour] v
1: promote over another; "he favors his second daughter" [syn: prefer, favor, favour]
2: consider as the favorite; "The local team was favored" [syn: favor, favour]
3: treat gently or carefully [syn: favor, favour]
4: bestow a privilege upon [syn: privilege, favor, favour]

Merriam Webster's

I. noun Etymology: Middle English, from Anglo-French, from Latin, from fav?re to be favorable; perhaps akin to Old High German gouma attention, Old Church Slavic gov?ti to revere Date: 14th century 1. a. (1) friendly regard shown toward another especially by a superior (2) approving consideration or attention ; approbation b. partiality c. archaic leniency d. archaic permission e. popularity 2. archaic a. appearance b. (1) face (2) a facial feature 3. a. gracious kindness; also an act of such kindness <did you a favor> b. archaic aid, assistance c. plural effort in one's behalf or interest ; attention 4. a. a token of love (as a ribbon) usually worn conspicuously b. a small gift or decorative item given out at a party c. badge 5. a. a special privilege or right granted or conceded b. sexual privileges — usually used in plural 6. archaic letter 7. behalf, interest II. transitive verb (favored; favoring) Date: 14th century 1. a. to regard or treat with favor b. (1) to do a kindness for ; oblige (2) endow c. to treat gently or carefully <favored her injured leg> 2. to show partiality toward ; prefer 3. a. to give support or confirmation to ; sustain b. to afford advantages for success to ; facilitate <good weather favored the outing> 4. to bear a resemblance to <he favors his father> • favorer noun

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Favor Fa"vor, n. [Written also favour.] [OF. favor, F. faveur, L. favor, fr. favere to be favorable, cf. Skr. bh[=a]vaya to further, foster, causative of bh[=u] to become, be. Cf. Be. In the phrase to curry favor, favor is prob. for favel a horse. See 2d Favel.] 1. Kind regard; propitious aspect; countenance; friendly disposition; kindness; good will. Hath crawled into the favor of the king. --Shak. 2. The act of countenancing, or the condition of being countenanced, or regarded propitiously; support; promotion; befriending. But found no favor in his lady's eyes. --Dryden. And Jesus increased in wisdom and stature, and in favor with God and man. --Luke ii. 52. 3. A kind act or office; kindness done or granted; benevolence shown by word or deed; an act of grace or good will, as distinct from justice or remuneration. Beg one favor at thy gracious hand. --Shak. 4. Mildness or mitigation of punishment; lenity. I could not discover the lenity and favor of this sentence. --Swift. 5. The object of regard; person or thing favored. All these his wondrous works, but chiefly man, His chief delight and favor. --Milton. 6. A gift or represent; something bestowed as an evidence of good will; a token of love; a knot of ribbons; something worn as a token of affection; as, a marriage favor is a bunch or knot of white ribbons or white flowers worn at a wedding. Wear thou this favor for me, and stick it in thy cap. --Shak. 7. Appearance; look; countenance; face. [Obs.] This boy is fair, of female favor. --Shak. 8. (Law) Partiality; bias. --Bouvier. 9. A letter or epistle; -- so called in civility or compliment; as, your favor of yesterday is received. 10. pl. Love locks. [Obs.] --Wright. Challenge to the favor or for favor (Law), the challenge of a juror on grounds not sufficient to constitute a principal challenge, but sufficient to give rise to a probable suspicion of favor or bias, such as acquaintance, business relation, etc. See Principal challenge, under Challenge. In favor of, upon the side of; favorable to; for the advantage of. In favor with, favored, countenanced, or encouraged by. To curry favor [see the etymology of Favor, above], to seek to gain favor by flattery, caresses, kindness, or officious civilities. With one's favor, or By one's favor, with leave; by kind permission. But, with your favor, I will treat it here. --Dryden. Syn: Kindness; countenance; patronage; support; lenity; grace; gift; present; benefit.

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Favor Fa"vor, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Favored; p. pr. & vb. n. Favoring.] [Written also favour.] [Cf. OF. favorer, favorir. See Favor, n.] 1. To regard with kindness; to support; to aid, or to have the disposition to aid, or to wish success to; to be propitious to; to countenance; to treat with consideration or tenderness; to show partiality or unfair bias towards. O happy youth! and favored of the skies. --Pope. He that favoreth Joab, . . . let him go after Joab. --2 Sam. xx. 11. [The painter] has favored her squint admirably. --Swift. 2. To afford advantages for success to; to facilitate; as, a weak place favored the entrance of the enemy. 3. To resemble in features; to have the aspect or looks of; as, the child favors his father. The porter owned that the gentleman favored his master. --Spectator.

International Standard Bible Encyclopedia

fa'-ver (chen, ratson, with other Hebrew words; charis): Means generally good will, acceptance, and the benefits flowing from these; in older usage it meant also the countenance, hence, appearance. Alternating in English Versions of the Bible with "grace," it is used chiefly of man, but sometimes also of God (Ge 18:3; 30:27; 39:21; Ex 3:21; 2Sa 15:25, "in the eyes of Yahweh," etc.). It is used perhaps in the sense of "countenance" in Pr 31:30, "Favor is deceitful, and beauty is vain" (the King James Version), where for "favor" the Revised Version (British and American) has "grace"; the reference is to external appearance. "Favored" is used in the sense of "appearance" in the phrase "well-favored" (Ge 29:17; 39:6; 41:2,4).; conversely, "ill-favored" (Ge 41:3,4). For "favor" the Revised Version (British and American) has "have pity on" (Ps 109:12), "good will" (Pr 14:9), "peace" (So 8:10); the English Revised Version "grace" (Ru 2:13), the American Standard Revised Version "kindness" (Es 2:17; Da 1:9), etc. In the American Standard Revised Version "the acceptable year of the Lord" (Isa 61:2) is changed Into "the year of Yahweh's favor"; "Do I now persuade men" (Ga 1:10) into, "Am I now seeking the favor of men," and there are other the Revised Version (British and American) changes.

W. L. Walker

Soule's Dictionary of English Synonyms

I. v. a. 1. Countenance, befriend, encourage, patronize. 2. Approve, be in favor of, regard with favor. 3. Facilitate, make easier, be favorable or propitious to. 4. Support, aid, help, assist. 5. Humor, indulge, spare, ease, palliate, extenuate, represent favorably or in a favorable light. 6. Resemble, look like, be like. II. n. 1. Kindness, friendliness, countenance, grace, kind regard, good-will, propitious aspect. 2. Benefit, kindness, act of grace, good deed, kind act, friendly turn. 3. Patronage, championship, support. 4. Letter, epistle, communication. 5. Gift, present, token of good-will, love-token. 6. Decoration, knot, rosette, bunch of ribbons. 7. Leave, permission, pardon, good-will. 8. Advantage, protection, cover. 9. (Law.) Bias, partiality, prejudice.

Moby Thesaurus

OK, abet, abetment, accept, acceptance, accommodate, accomplishment, accord respect to, account, acculturate, acknowledgment, act of courtesy, act of grace, act of kindness, adherence, admiration, admire, adopt, adoration, adore, advance, advantage, advocacy, advocate, aegis, affinity, aid, aid and abet, aim at, air, ameliorate, amend, amenity, an in, answer, ape, apotheosis, apotheosize, appear like, appreciate, appreciation, approach, approbation, approval, approve, approve of, approximate, ascendancy, assist, assistance, attention, auspices, authority, avail, awe, baby, back, backing, bad books, bag, bail out, be desirous of, be like, be partial to, be redolent of, bear a hand, bear resemblance, bearing, befriend, behind, benediction, benefaction, benefit, benevolence, benignity, bent, better, bias, billet, blank check, bless, blessing, boon, boost, break no bones, breathless adoration, bring forward, bring to mind, brow, business letter, call to mind, call up, care, carriage, carte blanche, cast, cast of countenance, cater to, champion, championship, charisma, charity, charm, chit, choose, choose rather, chosen kind, civility, civilize, clemency, clout, coddle, color, come close, come near, comfort, commemoration, commiseration, communication, compare with, compassion, complexion, compliment, condolence, conduce to, consequence, consideration, contribute to, control, convenience, cooperation, copy, copyright, correspond, cosset, countenance, counterfeit, courtesy, credit, cup of tea, deanship, defer to, deference, deification, deify, demeanor, desiderate, desire, dial, discriminate, dispatch, dispensation, disposition, do a favor, do a service, do good, do no harm, do right by, doctor, dominance, domination, drag, druthers, duty, ease, edify, educate, effect, elect, elevate, emend, eminence, enchantment, encourage, encouragement, endorse, endorsement, enhance, enlighten, enrich, entertain respect for, epistle, espouse, esteem, estimation, evoke, exaggerated respect, exalt, excellence, expedite, face, facial appearance, facies, facilitate, fancy, fascination, fatten, favorable regard, favorable vote, favoritism, feature, features, feeling, fellow feeling, follow, for, forbearance, force, forgiveness, forward, foster, fosterage, franchise, freedom, friendly relations, further, garb, gesture, give a boost, give a hand, give a lift, give help, give way to, go for, go in for, go straight, good deed, good feeling, good graces, good offices, good terms, good turn, good understanding, goodwill, grace, graceful gesture, grant, gratify, great respect, greatness, guidance, guise, harmony, hasten, have a bias, have designs on, have preference, have rather, hearten, help, hero worship, hero-worship, high regard, hold, hold in esteem, hold in reverence, hold with, homage, honor, honor before, humanity, humor, idolatry, idolization, idolize, imitate, immunity, importance, improve, improve upon, in back of, in favor of, in support of, incidental power, inclination, incomparability, indulge, indulgence, influence, influentiality, inimitability, inside track, insinuation, interest, keep in countenance, keepsake, kind deed, kind offices, kindly act, kindness, kisser, labor of love, lard, largess, lead, leadership, lean towards, leaning, lend a hand, lend one aid, lend wings to, leniency, letter, leverage, liberty, license, lift, like, like better, line, lineaments, lines, look like, look up to, looks, love, lust, lust after, magnetism, majority, make an improvement, make for, manna, map, mastery, match, meliorate, memento, memento mori, memorabilia, memorial, memorials, memories, mend, mercy, message, mien, mimic, mirror, missive, mitigation, mitzvah, mollycoddle, moment, mug, mush, mutual affinity, mutual attraction, mutual regard, near, nearly reproduce, nod, not tell apart, note, nurture, obligation, oblige, office, one-upmanship, opinion, opt for, pamper, pan, parallel, pardon, partake of, partiality, particular choice, patent, pathos, patronage, penchant, personal choice, personality, persuasion, phiz, physiognomy, pity, play favorites, please, polite act, port, posture, potency, power, precedence, predilection, predisposition, predominance, predomination, preeminence, prefer, prefer to, preference, prejudice, preponderance, prepossession, prepotence, prepotency, prerogative, presence, present, pressure, prestige, priority, privilege, prize, pro, proclivity, proffer aid, profit, promote, propensity, protect, pull, purchase, push forward, puss, put forward, quarter, quicken, raise, rally, rapport, rather, reclaim, recommend, redeem, refine upon, reform, regard, reign, relic, relief, relieve, remedy, remembrance, remembrancer, remind one of, render assistance, reply, reprieve, repute, rescript, rescue, resemble, respect, restore, resuscitate, revere, reverence, reverential regard, revive, right-of-way, rule, ruth, sanction, satisfy, save, savor of, say, seal of approval, seconding, see fit, seem like, select, self-pity, seniority, serve, service, set before, set forward, set up, shine upon, show kindness to, show preference, side with, simulate, single out, skill, smack of, smile upon, socialize, sound like, souvenir, special favor, speed, spoil, sponsor, sponsorship, stack up with, stamp of approval, stance, straighten out, style, suasion, subscribe, subtle influence, success, succor, suction, suggest, suggestion, superiority, support, supremacy, sway, sympathy, take after, take in tow, take kindly to, take to, taste, tendency, thing, think best, think fit, think highly of, think much of, think proper, think well of, token, token of remembrance, traits, transcendence, transcendency, transfigure, transform, treat unequally, treat well, trophy, turn, tutelage, type, upgrade, uphold, uplift, upper hand, urbanity, value, venerate, veneration, view, view with favor, virtuosity, visage, voice, vote, want, warrant, weight, whip hand, wish, wish to goodness, wish very much, worship, worth, would fain do, yea, yea vote, yield to