3 syllables: fa, vour, ed. Stress on fa.
FAY-vurd
/ˈfeɪ.vɚd/
favoured is pronounced FAY-vurd (/ˈfeɪ.vɚd/). It has three syllables (fa-vour-ed), with the stress on "fa". Favoured is the adjective or past tense of “to favour,” meaning to preferentially support or prefer someone or something. In British usage it appears as favoured; in American usage it is typically favored. The word conveys a positive bias or preference and is common in formal and written contexts, including politics, etiquette, and descriptions of advantageous circumstances.
Favoured is the adjective or past tense of “to favour,” meaning to preferentially support or prefer someone or something. In British usage it appears as favoured; in American usage it is typically favored. The word conveys a positive bias or preference and is common in formal and written contexts, including politics, etiquette, and descriptions of advantageous circumstances.
- You may stress the second syllable as in faVOURed; instead, keep primary stress on the first syllable: /ˈfeɪ.vərd/. - The second syllable often reduces to a schwa; avoid pronouncing a full vowel like /eɪ/ or /ɜː/. Practice the quick /vər/ transition before the /d/. - Don’t drop voicing on /d/; ensure it’s a voiced alveolar stop. Gentle, complete closure is better than a clipped ending.
"The committee favoured the proposal after careful review."
"She felt favoured by the invitation to speak at the conference."
"During the debate, he argued that the policy was favoured by most stakeholders."
You say /ˈfeɪ.vərd/. The first syllable rhymes with “pay” and carries primary stress. The second is a reduced unstressed form, sounding like “vər,” with a schwa-sound in many accents, followed by a clear final /d/. In rapid speech, the second syllable can become a quick, almost casual ‘vuhd’.
Common errors include misplacing stress (say it as ‘faVOURed’ with stress on the second syllable), pronouncing the second syllable as a full vowel (instead of /ər/), and blending the /v/ and /d/ too abruptly (you should have a light, quick /vər/ before the /d/). Practice keeping the /ə/ sound in the second syllable and ensure the final /d/ is a voiced stop, not a voiceless one.
US and UK generally share /ˈfeɚd/ with the first vowel as a long /eɪ/ and a rhotic schwa in American English; UK often reduces postvocalic vowel slightly more. In Australian English, you’ll hear a similar /ˈfeɒ.vəd/ or /ˈfeɪ.vəd/ depending on region, with less rhoticity and a broader vowel in the first syllable. The core is a stressed first syllable followed by a reduced second syllable, but the exact vowel quality shifts slightly by dialect.
The difficulty often lies in the second syllable’s schwa and the fast transition from the stressed /feɪ/ to the unstressed /ər/ before the final /d/. Non-rhotic accents may reduce the final vowel more, making /d/ harder to hear if attached quickly. Also, the subtle /v/ before a voiced /d/ can blur if you don’t maintain voicing across the cluster.
Yes—the sequence /ˈfeɪ.vərd/ places emphasis on the first syllable with a light, reduced second syllable that often lacks a full vowel quality. The /v/ must be clearly voiced and linked to the final /d/. In fast speech, listeners may hear ‘fehv-d’ if the /ər/ is shortened; precise articulation keeps the /ər/ clear and the final /d/ audible.
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Favoured traces to Old French preferred (to favour) and Latin placere (to please). The word entered English via Norman influence, with the form favourer meaning 'one who shows kindness, support, or preference.' By the 14th century, the sense extended to bias or preference, often in a political or social context. The spelling favoured with a U aligns with British English conventions, while the American variant favored drops the U after the ‘ou’ sequence. The root verb favour (Latin placere) and the corresponding noun/final suffix -our/-or reflect shared Indo-European patterns of attributive adjectives and past participles. The phrase “to be in favour” appears in civil and political discourses well before the 19th century, while “favoured” as a past participial form became common in formal prose and legal language by the 1800s. Over time, usage broadened to describe advantageous status (being favoured by fate, by circumstance, or by others) and to describe preferential treatment in systems and institutions.
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Words that rhyme with "favoured"
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