disfavor

[ dis-fey-ver ]

noun

1. unfavorable regard; displeasure; disesteem; dislike:

   The prime minister incurred the king's disfavor.

2. the state of being regarded unfavorably; disrepute:

   The fashions of one year are in disfavor the next.

3. a disadvantageous or detrimental act; disservice:

   The pianist did himself a disfavor in trying to sing.

verb (used with object)

1. to regard or treat with disfavor.

Other Words From

• dis·favor·er noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of disfavor¹

First recorded in 1525–35; dis- ¹ + favor

Example Sentences

Purcell takes that public-interest idea, makes it very specific, says it’s just about elections, and puts a huge thumb on the scale to disfavor last-minute federal court intervention in elections.

From Slate

Wells Fargo officials are open about their disfavor of the unionization effort but deny that the layoffs of 11 employees in the bank’s conduct management intake department were a response to the ongoing unrest, saying they were part of planned organizational changes.

From Los Angeles Times

When in 1803 the first chief justice of the United States, John Marshall, defined the core function of judicial review as the power to “declare what the law is,” the insulation from removal or political disfavor ensured that justices of the United States Supreme Court would be, during the period of their active service—on average 30 years—arguably the most powerful jurists in the world.

From Slate

But many individual investors also have the ability to press the eject button on stocks that they disfavor, all on their own.

From New York Times

They noted that while arguments about “evolving standards of decency” have been used to bar the execution of juveniles or people with severe developmental delays, Creech’s lawyers had presented little or no evidence that the people in the U.S. increasingly disfavor the execution of inmates who were sentenced by judges rather than juries.

From Seattle Times

Related Words

• disapprobation
• disapproval
• dislike
• displeasure
• dissatisfaction