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

Both transgressions sparked national outrage, with the Starbucks holding an afternoon of racial-bias training for all employees after the arrests. — Katherine Nails, Philly.com, "Consumers, coffee shops see changes after Starbucks incidents - but will they last?," 10 July 2018 In May, Starbucks held antiracial-bias training for thousands of US employees after a worker at another Philadelphia store called police on two black men waiting for a friend. — BostonGlobe.com, "Wynn Resorts losing high-profile general counsel," 5 July 2018 The cafe chain held racial-bias training in May in response. — Dalvin Brown, USA TODAY, "Starbucks barista is fired for mocking a patron who was stuttering," 5 July 2018 Last month, Starbucks closed about 8,000 cafes so its employees could undergo racial-bias training, which did hurt sales in the quarter, Johnson said. — Leslie Patton, chicagotribune.com, "Starbucks plans to open fewer stores in U.S. while closing many in larger cities," 19 June 2018 That report recommended more research and data on workplace harassment, specific changes to harassment reporting procedures and an overhaul of anti-bias training programs. — Maya Rhodan, Time, "#MeToo Has 'Tripled' Web Traffic For the Federal Agency That Investigates Harassment," 12 June 2018 On May 29, Starbucks closed 8,000 locations for anti-bias training, an initiative that followed the wrongful arrest of two black men in a Philadelphia Starbucks last April. — Nicole Spector /, NBC News, "Bummed by Starbucks' price hike? Here's how much it costs to make your coffee," 11 June 2018 Shallal has been conducting anti-bias trainings for employees every couple of weeks. — CBS News, "Millennials talk racial bias in restaurant industry," 4 June 2018 On Tuesday, Starbucks closed 8,000 of its locations for anti-bias training. — Felice León, The Root, "Was the Starbucks Anti-Bias Training a Fail or Nah?," 29 May 2018

Recent Examples on the Web: Verb

Players protesting in an effort to draw attention to criminal and economic systems that are biased against people of color? — Nancy Armour, USA TODAY, "Stick to sports? Cardinals' support of Supreme Court nominee shows NFL's hypocrisy," 10 July 2018 Steele stopped cooperating with the FBI in late October, out of fear that the bureau was biased in Trump’s favor. — Eric Levitz, Daily Intelligencer, "3 Bombshell Claims in the Leaked Testimony on Trump and Russia," 9 Jan. 2018 The involvement of the alcohol industry in the NIH study, and the apparent deterioration of any firewall between funders and the researchers, raises the question of whether the study is biased by design. — Julia Belluz, Vox, "The alcohol industry gave the government money to prove moderate drinking is safe," 15 June 2018 The American public now knows that the top levels of the FBI were biased about a Republican candidate for president. — Fox News, "Former agent fires back at calls to abolish ICE," 30 June 2018 The result is that the structural environment is biased against Democrats and the Republicans have engineered it that way. — Sean Illing, Vox, "Why this political scientist thinks the Democrats have to fight dirty," 11 June 2018 The proposal that the USDA be in charge of regulation is in line with what the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association wanted, but some lab-meat advocates fear that USDA will be biased against them in favor of traditional meat. — Angela Chen, The Verge, "Don’t listen to Big Cattle — lab-grown meat should still be called “meat”," 11 May 2018 Some human rights advocates argue that the court is biased against Palestinians. — Cristina Maza, Newsweek, "Ahed Tamimi, the Palestinian Teenager Who Slapped an Israeli Soldier in Viral Video, to Be Jailed for Months After Accepting Plea Deal," 21 Mar. 2018 Issa said officials from the inspector general's office informed him Thursday that the FBI's conduct was biased overall but that there was not enough evidence of biased activity by individuals to prosecute them. — Marc Rod, CNN, "Issa alleges evidence of 'bias,' 'conspiracy' in DOJ IG report," 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.