favoritism

noun

fa·​vor·​it·​ism ˈfā-v(ə-)rə-ˌti-zəm 

ˈfā-vər-

1

: the showing of special favor : partiality

2

: the state or fact of being a favorite

Examples of favoritism in a Sentence

He accused the teacher of showing favoritism in assigning grades.

Recent Examples on the Web

Even when BookTok does rally around a quote-unquote serious writer—such as Sally Rooney or Ottessa Moshfegh—there is a veneer of genre favoritism and eerie self-identification. — Brady Brickner-Wood, New Yorker, 8 July 2026

King Charles’s apparent favoritism toward his eldest son, Prince William. — Emma Banks, InStyle, 7 July 2026

Suddenly, a conversation about roof repairs somehow becomes a debate about fairness, favoritism and something that happened at Thanksgiving 10 years ago. — David Crown, Forbes.com, 2 July 2026

Goldstein remained with the band through the late-’90s/early 2000s recording of the album Chinese Democracy, often weathering accusations of favoritism toward one band member or another. — Greg Evans, Deadline, 26 June 2026

Word History

First Known Use

1763, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Rhymes for favoritism

• activism
• albinism
• altruism
• aneurism
• animism
• aphorism
• atomism
• barbarism
• bolshevism
• botulism
• brahmanism
• calvinism

Kids Definition

favoritism

noun

fa·​vor·​it·​ism ˈfāv-(ə-)rət-ˌiz-əm 

: unfairly favorable treatment of some while neglecting others