bias

noun

bi·as | \ ˈbī-əs

Definition of bias

(Entry 1 of 4)

1a : an inclination of temperament or outlook especially : a personal and sometimes unreasoned judgment : prejudice

b : an instance of such prejudice

c : bent, tendency

d(1) : deviation of the expected value of a statistical estimate from the quantity it estimates

(2) : systematic error introduced into sampling or testing by selecting or encouraging one outcome or answer over others

2 : a line diagonal to the grain of a fabric especially : a line at a 45 degree angle to the selvage often utilized in the cutting of garments for smoother fit

3a : a peculiarity in the shape of a bowl that causes it to swerve when rolled on the green in lawn bowling

b : the tendency of a bowl to swerve also : the impulse causing this tendency

c : the swerve of the bowl

4a : a voltage applied to a device (such as a transistor control electrode) to establish a reference level for operation

b : a high-frequency voltage combined with an audio signal to reduce distortion in tape recording

on the bias

1 : diagonally to the grain of a fabric cut the cloth on the bias sleeves cut on the bias

2 : at an angle : diagonally to the fibers of something cut the meat on the bias carrots cut on the bias

bias

verb

biased or biassed; biasing or biassing

Definition of bias (Entry 2 of 4)

transitive verb

1 : to give a settled and often prejudiced outlook to his background biases him against foreigners

2 : to apply a slight negative or positive voltage to (something, such as a transistor)

bias

adjective

Definition of bias (Entry 3 of 4)

: diagonal, slanting —used chiefly of fabrics and their cut

bias

adverb

Definition of bias (Entry 4 of 4)

1 : diagonally cut cloth bias

2 obsolete : awry

Other Words from bias Synonyms & Antonyms Choose the Right Synonym Bias vs. Biased More Example Sentences Learn More about bias

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Choose the Right Synonym for bias

Noun

predilection, prepossession, prejudice, bias mean an attitude of mind that predisposes one to favor something. predilection implies a strong liking deriving from one's temperament or experience. a predilection for travel prepossession suggests a fixed conception likely to preclude objective judgment of anything counter to it. a prepossession against technology prejudice usually implies an unfavorable prepossession and connotes a feeling rooted in suspicion, fear, or intolerance. a mindless prejudice against the unfamiliar bias implies an unreasoned and unfair distortion of judgment in favor of or against a person or thing. a strong bias toward the plaintiff

Verb

incline, bias, dispose, predispose mean to influence one to have or take an attitude toward something. incline implies a tendency to favor one of two or more actions or conclusions. I incline to agree bias suggests a settled and predictable leaning in one direction and connotes unfair prejudice. the experience biased him against foreigners dispose suggests an affecting of one's mood or temper so as to incline one toward something. her nature disposes her to trust others predispose implies the operation of a disposing influence well in advance of the opportunity to manifest itself. does fictional violence predispose them to accept real violence?

Bias vs. Biased

Verb

In recent years, we have seen more evidence of the adjectival bias in constructions like “a bias news program” instead of the more usual “a biased news program.” The reason is likely because of aural confusion: the -ed of biased may be filtered out by hearers, which means that bias and biased can sound similar in the context of normal speech. They are not interchangeable, however. The adjective that means “exhibited or characterized by an unreasoned judgment” is biased (“a biased news story”). There is an adjective bias, but it means “diagonal” and is used only of fabrics (“a bias cut across the fabric”).

Examples of bias in a Sentence

Noun

… members of the opinion media will cherry-pick moments from the debate that support their own ideological biases. — Michelle Cottle, New Republic, 16 Oct. 2000 Blatant racial and gender discrimination is just about over, creating a sociological space in which to worry about subtler forms of bias. — Gregg Easterbrook, New Republic, 20 Dec. 1999 Like the printing press before it, the computer has a powerful bias toward amplifying personal autonomy and individual problem-solving. — Katha Pollitt, Nation, 9 Oct. 1995 He showed a bias toward a few workers in particular. Do they have a bias against women? The company was accused of racial bias. The decision was made without bias. She showed no bias toward older clients. a student with a strong bias towards the arts

Verb

Unfortunately, his convictions are not clearly and logically developed; they mostly lurk in the background biasing his reporting. He does not always give the reader a fair chance to follow the arguments of the actors—even those with whom he ardently agrees. — Leonard Silk, New York Times Book Review, 24 Feb. 1980 I don't want to bias you against the movie, but I thought the book was much better. The circumstances could bias the results of the survey.

Adverb

made of fabric cut bias

Recent Examples on the Web: Noun

Last fall, the department began implementing implicit bias training for its officers. — Uriel J. Garcia, azcentral, "Phoenix police union defends officers identified in report of racist Facebook comments," 6 June 2019 Hoover City School officials have initiated efforts to learn more about student experiences at school and will conduct implicit bias training for teachers before the start of the new school year. — al.com, "Hoover trying to end hate speech that disrupts school," 4 June 2019 Facing boycotts and public outrage, Starbucks decided to close its US stores for an afternoon of racial bias training. — Nadra Nittle, Vox, "Companies used to stay quiet about politics. In 2018, social causes became integral to their branding.," 17 Dec. 2018 But, a review of these seven trials (plus four others) concluded that the studies were at risk of potential bias and that their results should be treated with caution. — Denby Royal, SELF, "I Used to Be a Wellness Influencer. Now I'm an Alternative Medicine Skeptic," 9 Aug. 2018 The news story underscored how standardized test scores—once hailed as a neutral measure of a student's aptitude—are subject to bias. — Chloe Foussianes, Town & Country, "SAT to Add "Adversity Score," in Hopes of Narrowing the Achievement Gap," 17 May 2019 John had already made me a bias cut black satin evening suit that evoked Shalom Harlow’s look from his unforgettable Fall 1994 show in Paris socialite Sao Schlumberger’s empty Louis Seize mansion. — Hamish Bowles, Vogue, "The Story Behind Hamish Bowles’s Maison Margiela Artisanal by John Galliano Met Gala Look," 8 May 2019 Terry Crews has this bias because of his own experience. — Jenn M. Jackson, Teen Vogue, "Terry Crews's Family Comment Perpetuates Toxic Masculinity," 9 Mar. 2019 Clearly, there can’t be widespread institutional bias against both sides, but arbitrary enforcement of the rules would certainly give both sides the impression that they’re being punished for crimes other people get away with. — Bijan Stephen, The Verge, "Death of a provocateur," 30 Nov. 2018

Recent Examples on the Web: Verb

Even those who don't want to go as far as to say the FBI is biased can pull from what Strzok said in private to try to argue the FBI has at least made big blunders that led to the ongoing Russia investigation. — Amber Phillips, Washington Post, "Peter Strzok, the symbol of whatever you want him to be in the Russia investigation," 13 July 2018 Only last month it was reported that Amazon had to scrap an internal recruiting tool trained using machine learning because it was biased against female candidates. — James Vincent, The Verge, "Google removes gendered pronouns from Gmail’s Smart Compose to avoid AI bias," 27 Nov. 2018 The crowd was predictably biased against Butler, whose disinterest in staying with Minnesota triggered the trade that sent him to Philadelphia for Robert Covington, Dario Saric and Jerryd Bayless. — Dave Campbell, The Seattle Times, "In Butler’s return, 76ers top Wolves 118-109," 30 Mar. 2019 To ensure conflicts of interest don’t taint plans for dividing assets, bankruptcy rules also require advisers to disclose all connections, or relationships that could bias an adviser’s work. — Tom Corrigan, WSJ, "McKinsey, Turnaround Veteran Alix Set to Face Off in Another Coal Bankruptcy," 12 Nov. 2018 The report could have helped buttress their argument that the government should continue to fund the plane as part of its effort to win the Cold War, but A.E.I. had withheld it until after the Senate voted on the issue so as not to bias the debate. — Jonathan Mahler, New York Times, "How One Conservative Think Tank Is Stocking Trump’s Government," 20 June 2018 That none of this information came to light as an October surprise is the fatal flaw in the charge that federal investigators were politically biased against Trump. — Cristian Farias, Daily Intelligencer, "Donald Trump Comes Unglued Amid Growing Pressure From Bob Mueller," 21 May 2018 Zuckerberg disagreed with Cruz’s assertion that Facebook was biased against conservatives on its platform or in its workforce. — Bloomberg.com, "Zuckerberg Testifies Before Senate Panel," 10 Apr. 2018 Our findings suggest people are more likely to be biased by hunger in negative situations. — Jennifer Maccormack, CNN, "When you go from hungry to 'hangry'," 14 June 2018

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'bias.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.