Meaning & use
advantageous
Last updated
Meaning
adjectivecomparable
Likely to give you a better position or a useful benefit.
Grammar: Used before a noun or after be, often with to or for: advantageous to both sides.
Patterns
- advantageous to someone
- advantageous for someone
- it is advantageous to do something
The new contract is advantageous to both companies.
It would be advantageous to leave early and avoid the traffic.
They found the location advantageous for a small shop.
Word forms
| comparative | more advantageous |
|---|---|
| superlative | most advantageous |
Common combinations
- highly advantageous
- Speaking two languages is highly advantageous in this job.
- mutually advantageous
- The trade deal was mutually advantageous.
- advantageous position
- The hill gave the army an advantageous position.
- financially advantageous
- It is financially advantageous to repair the roof now.
- advantageous terms
- She negotiated advantageous terms for the loan.
Synonyms and how they differ
- beneficial
- Beneficial focuses on the good effect something has on health, welfare or results, rather than a better position.
- favorable
- Favorable describes conditions that suit you, such as weather or opinion, rather than something you gain.
- helpful
- Helpful is plainer and more personal, and does not suggest gaining a strategic edge.
- profitable
- Profitable is about making money, which is only one kind of advantage.
Opposites
Word family
- advantage noun
- a condition that helps you succeed
- advantageously adverb
- in a way that benefits you
- disadvantage noun
- a condition that makes success harder
- disadvantageous adjective
- causing a worse position
- advantaged adjective
- having a better social or economic position
Commonly confused: advantageous or adventurous? advantageous or beneficial?
advantageous vs adventurous
Adventurous means willing to try new or risky things; it looks similar but has nothing to do with benefit.
advantageous vs beneficial
Beneficial is the nearest alternative, but it stresses a good effect rather than gaining an edge.
Practice
Having a car is ___ if you live far from public transport.
Choose one answer.
Advantageous means giving a benefit. Adventurous, advisory and adversarial look similar but mean something else entirely.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “advantageous”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.