bias

noun bi·as \ ˈbī-əs \

|Updated on: 14 Jun 2018

Tip: Synonym Guide

Examples: bias in a Sentence

Editor's Note: bias vs. biased

Definition of bias

1 a : 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

3 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

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

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

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

In Ohio, the patrol studies its traffic stop data and trooper actions monthly, quarterly, annually and every two years to ensure a bias-free operation, Sellers said.

— andrew welsh-huggins, Cincinnati.com, "Ohio patrol uses drug dogs more often with black drivers," 8 May 2018
This domestic bias helps explain why Mexico is one of the few Latin American countries to perform as well as expected, rather than better.

— The Economist, "What makes a country good at football?," 9 June 2018
Politicians and advertisers often try to exploit this bias toward belief, through techniques such as repetition, which can add an air of truth to a statement over time.

— eoin o'carroll, The Christian Science Monitor, "Programmed to believe: Why people buy into falsehoods," 8 June 2018
Google says new applications of AI should benefit society as a whole, seek to avoid unfair bias and be tested for safety.

— douglas macmillan, WSJ, "Google Says It Won’t Allow Its Artificial Intelligence in Military Weapons," 7 June 2018
But that didn’t generate as many headlines as the high-profile racial bias incident at a Starbucks in Philadelphia this year, in which a Starbucks manager called the police on two black men for sitting quietly in the store.

— sarah jones, The New Republic, "Howard Schultz’s Third Way," 6 June 2018
To many of Persky’s supporters, this case is an example of the system working, not evidence of Persky’s bias.

— gabriel baumgaertner, SI.com, "Brock Turner, the 'Athlete Bias,' and the Movement That Produced the Recall of Judge Aaron Persky," 6 June 2018
This isn’t the first time that al-Baker has left mouths agape with an apparent bias against women.

— janine puhak, Fox News, "Qatar Airways CEO apologizes for saying airlines need to be run by men," 6 June 2018
Michael Cohen/Getty Images for the New York Times Starbucks executive chair Howard Schultz had expected to step down last month, but a Philadelphia racial bias incident and the subsequent fallout kept him on for an extra few weeks.

— emily stewart, Vox, "Why there’s so much speculation about Starbucks chair Howard Schultz’s 2020 ambitions," 5 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.

Origin and Etymology of bias

Middle French biais

NEW! Time Traveler

First Known Use: 1530

in the meaning defined at sense 2

See Words from the same year

bias Synonyms

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

verb

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

McNair also stressed that Lake was biased and could not be trusted.

— michael mccann, SI.com, "Ex-USC Coach Todd McNair Losing Trial to NCAA Shows Why Defamation Lawsuits Are Tricky to Win," 21 May 2018
This is another brainchild of Smith: HisScience Advisory Board (SAB) Reform Act is based on the presumption that environmental scientists who have received money from the EPA for research—as many of them have—are biased in favor of regulation.

— emily atkin, The New Republic, "The War on Science Is Over. The Republicans Won.," 5 Apr. 2018
Trump had accused McCabe of being biased against him.

— Bloomberg.com, "Melania Trump to Hold First Public Event on Cyberbullying," 20 Mar. 2018
Manafort also has claimed that members of the special counsel may have leaked information to the press that would bias the jury in the upcoming trial.

— rachel weiner, Washington Post, "Paul Manafort’s Virginia trial delayed two weeks," 25 May 2018
Bad would waste time and not be useful, while very bad would make things worse as trainees exhaust themselves trying not to be biased and revert to their old ways.

— kay manning, chicagotribune.com, "As Starbucks gears up for training, here's why 'implicit bias' can be good, bad or very bad," 24 May 2018
Dayton Moore was always going to be biased to support a team with Eric Hosmer and Lorenzo Cain, particularly when they were surrounded by a youngish core with long-term club control.

— sam mellinger, kansascity, "Mellinger Minutes: Vermes' future, Royals' good stretch, whiny QBs, DJ as a Raider & more | The Kansas City Star," 8 May 2018
Conservatives have spent decades building a critique of mainstream news, lovingly compiling examples of biased or allegedly biased reporting, and constructing an echo chamber in which the dread Liberal Media can be ignored.

— jonathan chait, Daily Intelligencer, "Trump Admits He Calls All Negative News ‘Fake’," 9 May 2018
His lawyers accused government officials of leaking false information to the contrary to bias a jury against him.

— rachel weiner, Washington Post, "Manafort to appear in Virginia court in bid to have fraud charges dismissed," 4 May 2018

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: circa 1628

in the meaning defined at sense 1

See Words from the same year

bias Synonyms

Synonyms

poison, prejudice, 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?

Other Textiles Terms

batt, brocade, duck, flock, lawn, toile

bias

adjective

Definition of bias

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

—

biasness

noun

Origin and Etymology of bias

see ¹bias

NEW! Time Traveler

First Known Use: 1551

in the meaning defined above

See Words from the same year

Other Clothing Terms

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

bias

adverb

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

in the meaning defined at sense 1

See Words from the same year

bias Synonyms

Synonyms

athwart, cornerways, cornerwise, crossways, crosswise, diagonally, kitty-corner (also catty-corner), obliquely, transversely;

Near Antonyms

lengthwise, longitudinally;

Related Words

across;

Phrases

on the bias, on the diagonal;

BIAS Defined for English Language Learners

bias

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

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

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

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

Definition of bias

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Other Psychology Terms

bias

Definition of bias

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bias vs. biased

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bias Synonyms

Synonyms

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Synonym Discussion of bias

Other Textiles Terms

bias

Definition of bias

biasness

Origin and Etymology of bias

Other Clothing Terms

bias

Definition of bias

Examples of bias in a Sentence

Origin and Etymology of bias

bias Synonyms

Synonyms

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Phrases

BIAS Defined for English Language Learners

bias

Definition of bias for English Language Learners

bias

Definition of bias for English Language Learners

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bias

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bias

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bias

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