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Meaning & use

fair weather friends

phrase·Everydaydisapproving

Last updated

UK/ˌfeə ˈweðə frendz/
US/ˌfer ˈweðər frendz/
Usage warning: this word is disapproving. It shows a negative opinion, so take care with who and what you use it about.

Meanings

  1. phrasepluraldisapproving

    People who are friendly only when things are going well and who leave when trouble comes.

    Grammar: Always plural; the singular form is 'a fair-weather friend'. It is used with a disapproving tone.

    Patterns

    • be a fair-weather friend
    • have fair-weather friends

    When he lost his job, his fair weather friends stopped calling.

    She realized they were fair weather friends who only wanted her help when it suited them.

    True friends stay in hard times; fair weather friends disappear.

  2. phrasebefore a nounfigurativedisapproving

    Used more generally to describe support or loyalty that exists only in good conditions.

    Grammar: Used before a noun to describe loyalty or support that is not reliable in difficult times.

    Patterns

    • fair-weather support
    • fair-weather loyalty

    The team's fair weather fans left the stadium early.

    He offered only fair-weather support, helping when it was easy and vanishing when it was hard.

Word forms

singularfair-weather friend

Common combinations

a fair-weather friend
A fair-weather friend is easy to find but hard to trust.
fair-weather fans
The singer complained about fair-weather fans who only came to big shows.
fair-weather support
His fair-weather support ended as soon as the project got difficult.
true friends vs. fair-weather friends
She learned to tell true friends from fair-weather friends.
turn out to be fair-weather friends
They turned out to be fair-weather friends and stopped helping when she needed them most.

Synonyms and how they differ

fair-weather fan
Used mostly for sports or entertainment supporters who stop following a team when it loses.
sunshine patriot
An older, literary phrase with a similar idea of loyalty only in good times.
opportunist
A person who takes advantage of situations for personal gain; stronger and more general than fair-weather friend.

Opposites

loyal friendtrue friendstaunch supporter

Word family

fair-weather adjective
Describing support or loyalty that is reliable only in good conditions.
friend noun
A person you know well and like, who is not a member of your family.
friendship noun
The relationship between friends.

Commonly confused: fair weather friends or fair-weather? fair weather friends or weather?

fair weather friends vs fair-weather

This is a compound adjective meaning 'only good in fair weather'; in the phrase it describes friends who are loyal only in good times.

fair weather friends vs weather

Weather (climate conditions) is spelled with 'ea'; do not confuse it with 'whether' (if), which sounds the same.

Practice

What does it mean if someone is a fair-weather friend?

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