favourite
/ˈfeɪv.ɹɪt/ adjective, noun, verb
Forms favouritemost favouritest favourites favouriting favourited favorite
- adjective (superlative) Most-liked. (In other words, [person]'s favorite [noun] = the [noun] that [person] likes the most.) “This is my favourite day!”
- adjective (positive, high-register or archaic) Liked, cherished.
- noun A person or thing who enjoys special regard or favour. “The teacher's favourite always went first.”
- noun A person who is preferred or trusted above all others.
- noun A contestant or competitor thought most likely to win. “You were my favourite to win the spelling competition.”
- noun (Internet) A bookmark on a web browser or website.
- noun (in the plural) A short curl dangling over the temples, fashionable in the reign of Charles II.
- verb To favour.
- verb (Internet) To bookmark.
- verb (Internet) To add to one's list of favourite items on a website that allows users to compile such lists.
Synonyms
first love top dog darling front-runner favorite pet dearie deary ducky favored best-loved preferred preferent
Antonyms
Etymology
Attested from the 1580s, borrowed from Middle French favorit, from Old French favorit or Italian favorito (“favoured, favourite”), past participle of Italian favorire (“to favor”), from favore, from Latin favor (“good will, favor”), from the verb faveō (“to favour”), ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *bʰeh₂weh₁yeti (“to be favourable to”), from the root Proto-Indo-European *bʰeh₂- (“to shine, glow light”). Doublet of favori.
Sources: Wiktionary · WordNet 3.0 — from the Wiktionary entry “favourite”, CC BY-SA 4.0. Details