Meaning & use
fair-weather
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Meanings
adjectivebefore a noundisapproving
Supportive or friendly only when things are going well, and not to be relied on when problems arise.
Grammar: Used before a noun such as friend or fan: a fair-weather friend.
Patterns
- a fair-weather friend
- a fair-weather fan
He turned out to be a fair-weather friend who vanished when I lost my job.
Fair-weather fans fill the stadium only when the team is winning.
She had little time for fair-weather supporters.
adjectivebefore a nountechnical
Suitable for use or travel only in good weather.
Grammar: Used about boats, roads, or activities: a fair-weather sailor.
The old ferry is a fair-weather vessel and stays in port during storms.
The trail is fair-weather only and impassable after rain.
He calls himself a fair-weather cyclist because he won't ride in the cold.
Common combinations
- fair-weather friend
- A fair-weather friend never calls after you lose.
- fair-weather fan
- I'm no fair-weather fan; I have supported them for decades.
- fair-weather supporter
- Fair-weather supporters left before the final whistle.
- fair-weather sailor
- A fair-weather sailor stays home when the wind picks up.
- fair-weather cyclist
- As a fair-weather cyclist, he rides only in summer.
Synonyms and how they differ
- unreliable
- Unreliable is a general word for someone who cannot be depended on, while fair-weather points to the cause: they leave when times are hard.
- disloyal
- Disloyal suggests betrayal, whereas fair-weather suggests only that loyalty fades when it becomes inconvenient.
- opportunistic
- Opportunistic implies someone is using a situation for gain, but a fair-weather friend may simply be shallow.
- half-hearted
- Half-hearted means lacking enthusiasm in effort, not leaving when things go badly.
Opposites
Word family
Commonly confused: fair-weather or fair-minded? fair-weather or foul-weather?
fair-weather vs fair-minded
Fair-minded means treating others justly and has nothing to do with loyalty in hard times.
fair-weather vs foul-weather
Foul-weather describes gear or conditions for bad weather, and is sometimes used for friends who stay in hard times.
Practice
When Leo lost his job, most of his so-called friends stopped calling. They were ___ friends.
Choose one answer.
A fair-weather friend is loyal only when things go well. Fair-minded means just, which does not describe disappearing friends.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “fair-weather”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.