bias
Other forms: biased; biassed; biases; biasing; biassing; biasedly
Use the noun bias to mean a preference for one thing over another, especially an unfair one.
Some biases are completely innocent: "I have a bias toward French wines." But most often, bias is used to describe unfair prejudices: "The authorities investigated a case involving bias against Latinos." It is also a verb meaning "to show prejudice for or against," as in "They claimed the tests were biased against women." (In British English, it takes an extra S in the forms biassed and biassing.) The word goes back at least to Old Provençal, a former language of southern France, in association with the sport of lawn bowling, where it referred to the tendency of a ball to roll in one direction or the other.
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a partiality that prevents objective consideration of an issue or situation
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synonyms:
preconception, prejudice
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types:
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taboo, tabu
a prejudice (especially in Polynesia and other South Pacific islands) that prohibits the use or mention of something because of its sacred nature
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irrational hostility
extreme prejudice
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experimenter bias
(psychology) bias introduced by an experimenter whose expectations about the outcome of the experiment can be subtly communicated to the participants in the experiment
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homophobia
prejudice against (fear or dislike of) homosexual people and homosexuality
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Islamophobia
prejudice against Muslims
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racism
the prejudice that members of one race are intrinsically superior to members of other races
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tendentiousness
an intentional and controversial bias
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anti-Semitism, antisemitism
the intense dislike for and prejudice against Jewish people
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white supremacy
the prejudice that members of the white race are superior to members of other races
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type of:
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partiality, partisanship
an inclination to favor one group or view or opinion over alternatives
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influence in an unfair way“you are biasing my choice by telling me yours”
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types:
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handicap
attempt to forecast the winner (especially in a horse race) and assign odds for or against a contestant
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type of:
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prejudice, prepossess
influence (somebody's) opinion in advance
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handicap
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cause to be biased
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synonyms:
predetermine
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a line or cut across a fabric that is not at right angles to a side of the fabric
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synonyms:
diagonal
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type of:
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straight line
a line traced by a point traveling in a constant direction; a line of zero curvature
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straight line
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slanting diagonally across the grain of a fabric“a bias fold”
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synonyms:
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oblique
slanting or inclined in direction or course or position--neither parallel nor perpendicular nor right-angled
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oblique
/ˈbaɪəs/
/ˈbaɪəs/
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Vocabulary lists containing bias
Looking to build your vocabulary? Then practice this list of 100 "top words" — the kind that used to be tested on the SAT before 2016. If you're a high school student prepping for the SAT, check out Vocabulary.com's Roadmap to the SAT, which focuses on the vocabulary you'll need to ace today's SAT test.
Persuade yourself to study this list of words related to argumentative writing. You'll learn all about making claims, supporting arguments with evidence, and maintaining an objective tone. It's no fallacy that reviewing these words will improve your credibility as a writer.
