| / English Dictionary |
FAVOURITE
| Pronunciation (US): |  | (GB): | |
I. (noun)
Sense 1
Meaning:
Something regarded with special favor or liking
Example:
that book is one of my favorites
Synonyms:
favorite; favourite
Classified under:
Nouns denoting cognitive processes and contents
Hypernyms ("favourite" is a kind of...):
choice; pick; selection (the person or thing chosen or selected)
Derivation:
favourite (appealing to the general public)
Sense 2
Meaning:
A special loved one
Synonyms:
darling; dearie; deary; ducky; favorite; favourite; pet
Classified under:
Hypernyms ("favourite" is a kind of...):
lover (a person who loves someone or is loved by someone)
Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "favourite"):
chosen (one who is the object of choice; who is given preference)
macushla ((an Irish term of address expressing affection) darling)
mollycoddle (a pampered darling; an effeminate man)
teacher's pet (the teacher's favorite student)
Derivation:
favourite (preferred above all others and treated with partiality)
Sense 3
Meaning:
A competitor thought likely to win
Synonyms:
favorite; favourite; front-runner
Classified under:
Nouns denoting people
Hypernyms ("favourite" is a kind of...):
challenger; competition; competitor; contender; rival (the contestant you hope to defeat)
II. (adjective)
Sense 1
Meaning:
Preferred above all others and treated with partiality
Example:
the favored child
Synonyms:
best-loved; favored; favorite; favourite; pet; preferent; preferred
Classified under:
Similar:
loved (held dear)
Derivation:
favourite (a special loved one)
Sense 2
Meaning:
Appealing to the general public
Example:
a favorite tourist attraction
Synonyms:
favorite; favourite
Classified under:
Similar:
popular (regarded with great favor, approval, or affection especially by the general public)
Derivation:
favourite (something regarded with special favor or liking)
Context examples:
I felt I became a favourite in the neighbourhood.
(Jane Eyre, by Charlotte Brontë)
She will be more hurt by it, for Robert always was her favourite.
(Sense and Sensibility, by Jane Austen)
Its name derives from its odd shape, which resembles everyone’s favourite ringed planet seen edge-on.
(The Strange Structures of the Saturn Nebula, ESO)
Every precaution was taken to guard the favourite.
(The Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)
This favourite is hated by the whole herd, and therefore, to protect himself, keeps always near the person of his leader.
(Gulliver's Travels into several remote nations of the world, by Jonathan Swift)
He had himself picked up the loaded hunting-crop, which was his favourite weapon.
(The Return of Sherlock Holmes, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)
It is my favourite seat, and I cannot leave it; and now I find I must go on sitting over the grave of a suicide.
(Dracula, by Bram Stoker)
“He is a favourite of yours,” I said.
(The Sea-Wolf, by Jack London)
Now she had a golden ball in her hand, which was her favourite plaything; and she was always tossing it up into the air, and catching it again as it fell.
(Fairy Tales, by The Brothers Grimm)
Walrus ivory was a valuable medieval commodity, used to carve luxury items such as ornate crucifixes or pieces for games like chess and Viking favourite hnefatafl.
(Over-hunting walruses contributed to the collapse of Norse Greenland, University of Cambridge)
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