disfavor

1 of 2

noun

dis·​fa·​vor (ˌ)dis-ˈfā-vər How to pronounce disfavor (audio)
1
: disapproval, dislike
practices looked upon with disfavor
2
: the state or fact of being no longer favored
fell into disfavor
3

disfavor

2 of 2

verb

disfavored; disfavoring; disfavors

transitive verb

: to withhold or withdraw favor from

Examples of disfavor in a Sentence

Noun He regarded their proposal with disfavor. They looked with disfavor upon her. Verb The current laws favor large businesses and disfavor smaller businesses. a style of stage acting that is disfavored by most theatergoers today
Recent Examples on the Web
Noun
These are widely used but not mandatory, and make clear which answers by an applicant are likely to find disfavor with faculty diversity committees. Michael Powell, BostonGlobe.com, 9 Sep. 2023 Trump candidates have brought down multiple Republicans in the past as his rabid public following routinely puts pressure on GOP lawmakers who fall into the former president's disfavor. John Bacon, USA TODAY, 30 July 2023 At a time when trade liberalization and other traditional foreign policies have fallen into disfavor, and the domestic coalitions associated with them have splintered, leaders must find new arguments about the necessity of international openness and cooperation. Peter Trubowitz, Foreign Affairs, 3 May 2023 The current Supreme Court, for example, disfavors efforts to regulate business and commercial interests. Henry Gass, The Christian Science Monitor, 6 June 2023 For many Republican voters and conservatives, optimism about the economy and approval of the president have become deeply entwined — and for Democrats, disfavor for Trump brought pessimism over the economy even in the years of growth and low unemployment before the crisis. Jim Tankersley, BostonGlobe.com, 24 Aug. 2020 Democracy returned the Adamses’ disfavor. H.w. Brands, WSJ, 20 Nov. 2020 Although the Shahs had asked for the women to behave themselves at his birthday, no Housewives episode would be complete without some party disfavor — and the tension between Meredith Marks and Lisa Barlow from last season continued to linger into Wednesday's premiere. Lanae Brody, Peoplemag, 28 Sep. 2022 In other words, California’s order didn’t violate the Constitution’s protections for religious freedom in Roberts’s eyes because they were tailored to the public-health crisis at hand, and didn’t appear to single out religious activities for disfavor. Matt Ford, The New Republic, 17 Nov. 2020
Verb
Donald Trump, who is running again for U.S. president in 2024 against Biden, disfavors a TikTok ban — not for First Amendment reasons but because such a move would benefit Mark Zuckerberg’s Meta. Todd Spangler, Variety, 14 Mar. 2024 In federal criminal law, pretrial appeals are disfavored. Andrew C. McCarthy, National Review, 6 Jan. 2024 The court installed the policy in July after criticizing the cash bail system for disfavoring people who don’t have access to large amounts of money. Jones, Evans and Trone are due in court for another hearing in December. Jonah Valdez, Los Angeles Times, 31 Oct. 2023 Earlier this year, Judge Amit Mehta threw out some of the government’s secondary claims, including arguments that Google’s search engine design disfavored smaller, specialized competitors like Yelp and Expedia. Adi Robertson, The Verge, 12 Sep. 2023 The Supreme Court is stepping into the debate over speech rights and misinformation online, agreeing Friday to review lower-court rulings barring White House aides and other officials from pressuring social-media platforms to take down content disfavored by the government. Jacob Gershman, WSJ, 20 Oct. 2023 When comparing fuel options for international shipping, Britons strongly disfavor ammonia. Rachel Cusk, Harper's Magazine, 20 Sep. 2023 By contrast, many of those fleeing Russia for the U.S. have used the same difficult and at times treacherous route that disfavored refugees from all over the world use. Hamed Aleaziz, Los Angeles Times, 17 Aug. 2023 The consideration of personal qualities also disfavored Jews, who were thought to be academic grinds who lacked character. Jeannie Suk Gersen, The New Yorker, 8 Aug. 2023

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'disfavor.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

Etymology

Noun

probably from Middle French desfaveur, from des- dis- + faveur favor, from Old French favor

First Known Use

Noun

circa 1533, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Verb

1570, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of disfavor was circa 1533

Dictionary Entries Near disfavor

Cite this Entry

“Disfavor.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/disfavor. Accessed 28 Mar. 2024.

Kids Definition

disfavor

1 of 2 noun
dis·​fa·​vor (ˈ)dis-ˈfā-vər How to pronounce disfavor (audio)
1
: dislike entry 1, disapproval
practices looked upon with disfavor
2
: the state or fact of being disliked or disapproved
fell into disfavor

disfavor

2 of 2 verb

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