bias

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noun bi·as \ ˈbī-əs \

Definition of bias

1 :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

2 a :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

3 a :bent, tendency

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

c :an instance of such prejudice

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

4 a :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

:askew, obliquely

See bias defined for English-language learners

See bias defined for kids

Examples of bias in a Sentence

… 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

Recent Examples of bias from the Web

Though America’s sports media skews Caucasian, its recent voting patterns tend to reflect tangible results rather than racial bias, particularly recent results.

— tim sullivan, The Courier-Journal, "Results, not race, main factor in Lamar Jackson's diminished buzz | Tim Sullivan," 30 Aug. 2017
Gischel's 69-page lawsuit, filed July 13 in U.S. District Court in Cincinnati, also accuses the university of anti-male bias in its handling of the case, which led to his expulsion.

— kate murphy, Cincinnati.com, "One night changes lives, puts colleges on the spot," 24 Aug. 2017
The city is ponying up some of its own money to host events designed to train law enforcement officers from around the Southeast on recognizing biases.

— john sharp, AL.com, "Mayor continues bold pledge: Mobile will be 'safest city in America by 2020.' Is it doable?," 17 Aug. 2017
Yet that isn't entirely true, given that people of color are constantly met with racial biases simply for the color of their skin.

— araceli cruz, Teen Vogue, "FaceApp Debuts Blackface and Yellowface Filters," 9 Aug. 2017
In an attempt to determine a potential juror’s bias for or against the 27-year-old star, lawyers put together a 15-page questionnaire, which was obtained and released by TMZ.

— madeleine aggeler, The Cut, "Jury Selection Is Under Way For Taylor Swift’s Sexual-Harassment Trial," 7 Aug. 2017
Rights groups argue LGBT workers should be protected by existing federal law against gender bias by employers.

— erik larson, Bloomberg.com, "Trump Targets Legal Effort to Protect LGBT Workers From Bias," 27 July 2017
Anderson argues that holding the planning and zoning meeting before a decision is made regarding local landmark status would create a bias toward the developer.

— erin hegarty, Naperville Sun, "Naperville Public Library board to urge city to save old Nichols Library," 20 July 2017
At The FADER, Amos Barshad tells this story of clashing cultures and religious bias.

— aaron gilbreath, Longreads, "Architecture and Religious Bias: A California Case Study," 20 July 2017

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.

Origin and Etymology of bias

Middle French biais

NEW! Time Traveler

First Known Use: 1530

See Words from the same year

bias Synonyms

Synonyms

favor, nonobjectivity, one-sidedness, partiality, parti pris, partisanship, ply, prejudice, tendentiousness

Antonyms

impartiality, neutrality, objectivity, open-mindedness, unbiasedness

Related Words

chauvinism, cronyism, favoritism, nepotism; self-opinionatedness, self-partiality; bent, inclination, leaning, penchant, predilection, predisposition, proclivity, propensity, tendency; preconception, prejudgment, prepossession

Near Antonyms

calm, detachment, dispassion, indifference; aversion, dislike, distaste, hate, scunner

Synonym Discussion of bias

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

Other Psychology Terms

fetish, hypochondria, intelligence, mania, narcissism, neurosis, pathological, psychosis, schadenfreude, subliminal

bias

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adjective bi·as \ ˈbī-əs \

Definition of bias

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

—

biasness

noun

bias vs. biased

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”).

Origin and Etymology of bias

see ¹bias

NEW! Time Traveler

First Known Use: 1551

See Words from the same year

Other Textiles Terms

batt, brocade, duck, flock, lawn, toile

bias

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adverb bi·as \ ˈbī-əs \

Definition of bias

1 :diagonally

cut cloth bias

2 obsolete :awry

Examples of bias in a Sentence

made of fabric cut bias

Origin and Etymology of bias

see ¹bias

NEW! Time Traveler

First Known Use: 1575

See Words from the same year

bias Synonyms

Synonyms

athwart, crosswise, cornerways, cornerwise, crossways, diagonally, kitty-corner (also catty-corner or catercorner or kitty-cornered or catty-cornered or catercornered), obliquely, transversely

Related Words

across

Near Antonyms

lengthwise, longitudinally

Other Clothing Terms

babushka, brogue, bumbershoot, cravat, dishabille, furbelow, layette, raiment, spectator

bias

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verb bi·as \ ˈbī-əs \

Definition of bias

biased or biassed; biasing or biassing

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)

See bias defined for English-language learners

Examples of bias in a Sentence

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.

Recent Examples of bias from the Web

I might be biased, though, because yellow eye shadow is one of my favorite 2017 makeup trends.

— devon abelman, Allure, "NYX In Your Element Palette Collection: See Inside All 6," 29 Aug. 2017
Not only are the tests biased, but universities have known for quite a while that these standardized tests don’t really test anything.

— michael harriot, The Root, "Everything White People Think About Affirmative Action Is Wrong," 9 Aug. 2017
What’s more, a company with true commitment to diversity and gender equality in its workforce is much less likely to produce employees ridden by (biased) views like James Damore.

— josephine livingstone, New Republic, "Why the Conservative Response to the Google Memo Is Hypocritical," 9 Aug. 2017
Authorities who worked on the cases said the documentary was biased.

— crimesider staff, CBS News, "Appeals court: No immediate release for "Making a Murderer" subject Brendan Dassey," 29 June 2017
On New Zealand's North Brother Island, for instance, rising temperatures have already biased the local tuatara population male—

— jason bittel, National Geographic, "Chameleon Mummified Alive by the Tropical Sun," 20 June 2017
Admittedly biased, Prue said the celebration boasts two nights of the best fireworks in the region, along with games, entertainment and exhibits for visitors both days.

— sheryl devore, Lake County News-Sun, "Fireworks, music, fun run all part of Great Lakes July 4 party," 19 June 2017
Some of his ire is aimed at Rosenstein and investigative special counsel Robert Mueller, both of whom the president believes are biased against him, associates say.

— jonathan lemire, The Seattle Times, "Trump publicly acknowledges Russia probe includes him," 17 June 2017
Fri 6/16: The Vic (3145 N. Sheffield) welcomes accomplished comedian W. Kamau Bell, whose credits include Totally Biased with W. Kamau Bell, Conan, and United Shades of America.

— steve heisler, Chicago Reader, "Arts / Do This Pride Fest, Father's Day, and more things to do in Chicago this weekend," 16 June 2017

Origin and Etymology of bias

see ¹bias

NEW! Time Traveler

First Known Use: circa 1628

See Words from the same year

bias Synonyms

Synonyms

prejudice, poison, turn

Related Words

dispose, incline, predispose; influence, prepossess; convince, persuade, suggest

Synonym Discussion of bias

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 Defined for English Language Learners

bias

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noun

Definition of bias for English Language Learners

: a tendency to believe that some people, ideas, etc., are better than others that usually results in treating some people unfairly
: a strong interest in something or ability to do something

bias

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verb

Definition of bias for English Language Learners

: to have a strong and often unfair influence on (someone or something)

BIAS Defined for Kids

bias

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noun bi·as \ ˈbī-əs \

Definition of bias for Students

1 :a seam, cut, or stitching running in a slant across cloth

2 :a favoring of some ideas or people over others :prejudice She has a bias against newcomers.

bias

verb

Definition of bias for Students

biased or biassed; biasing or biassing

:to give a prejudiced outlook to Existing ideas may bias his observation of events.

Law Dictionary

bias

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noun bi·as \ ˈbī-əs \

legal Definition of bias

:a personal and often unreasoned judgment for or against one side in a dispute :prejudice

a judge disqualified because of bias

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bias

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bias

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bias

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bias

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bias

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