bias

verb

biased or biassed; biasing or biassing

transitive verb

1

: to give a settled and often prejudiced outlook to

his background biases him against foreigners

Those statements, prosecutors argue, could intimidate jurors or bias the pool of prospective jurors.

—Graham Underwood

2

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

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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”).

Synonyms of bias

• turn
• prejudice

Choose the Right Synonym for 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?

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 on the Web

Activists and some city leaders have voiced concerns that the stops are racially biased, sowing fear and distrust in the community. —Los Angeles Times, 4 June 2026

Digwa was sentenced to life in prison on Monday, concluding a case that the far-right has co-opted for its false narrative that British institutions, including the police, are biased against White Britons. —Issy Ronald, CNN Money, 3 June 2026

State leaders urged low-polling candidates to drop out, a charge some denounced as anti-democratic and biased against candidates of color. —Lia Russell, Sacbee.com, 3 June 2026

Rather than directly determining whether someone becomes left- or right-eyed, genetic factors may bias the strength and developmental expression of lateral preferences in ways similar to handedness. —Scott Travers, Forbes.com, 27 May 2026

Word History

Etymology

First Known Use

1581, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Phrases Containing bias

• bias-belted tire
• bias crime
• bias-ply tire
• bias tape
• implicit bias
• on the bias
• self-selection bias

Rhymes for bias

• dryas
• laius
• lyase
• mayas
• pious
• playas
• prius
• elias
• impious
• messias
• tobias
• jeremias

Kids Definition

bias

1 of 2 noun

bi·​as ˈbī-əs 

1

: a line diagonal to the grain of a fabric

2

: an attitude that always favors one way of feeling or acting over any other : prejudice

3

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

bias

2 of 2 verb

biased or biassed; biasing or biassing

: to give a prejudiced outlook to

Legal Definition

bias

noun

bi·​as ˈbī-əs 

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

a judge disqualified because of bias