unfavourable
adjective
unfavourable is spelled U-N-F-A-V-O-U-R-A-B-L-E: 12 letters. It appears about once in every 2 million words in written English, the 37,459th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). People search “unfavorable vs unfavourable” about 10 times a month (Google, United States). As an adjective, unfavourable means “Serving to hinder or oppose; adverse, disadvantageous, inconducive, unsuitable” (English Wiktionary, September 2026).
How many letters and syllables are in unfavourable?
| Letters | 12: U-N-F-A-V-O-U-R-A-B-L-E |
|---|---|
| In writing | about once in every 2 million words; the 37,459th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
| Pairs people search |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media); Bing searches in the United States: the average month from September 2025 to August 2026 (Microsoft Advertising keyword data through DataForSEO, read September 30, 2026).
How common is unfavourable?
Unfavourable appears about once in every 2 million words in written English, the 37,459th most frequent word form in the list.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How do you pronounce unfavourable?
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: LL-Q1860_(eng)-Vealhurl-unfavourable.wav, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Words people confuse with unfavourable
Word pairs people search, with the monthly searches for “a vs b” (G: Google, B: Bing, United States).
Also written: unfavorable.
Sources: Google and Bing searches (September 2025 to August 2026, through DataForSEO); English Wiktionary (homophones, alternative spellings).
Forms of unfavourable
- more unfavourable comparative
- most unfavourable superlative
- unfavorable
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does unfavourable mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
adjective
- 1
UKServing to hinder or oppose; adverse, disadvantageous, inconducive, unsuitable.
- 2
UKNot auspicious; ill-boding.
- 3
UKOf a belief, state of mind, etc.: not favourable; disapproving.
- 4
UKOf wind or weather: causing delay or obstacles; not conducive to travel or work; inclement.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Unfavourable in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
In the sense of wind or weather: causing delay or obstacles:
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | défavorable |
| German | ungünstig |
| Portuguese | desfavorável |
| Spanish | no/poco/nada favorable |
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.
Where does unfavourable come from?
From un- + favourable.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).