Definition of IMPARTIALITY

Other Words from impartial

impartiality \ (ˌ)im-ˌpär-shē-ˈa-lə-tē

, -ˌpär-ˈsha- \ noun

impartially \ (ˌ)im-ˈpär-sh(ə-)lē

\ adverb

Choose the Right Synonym for impartial

fair, just, equitable, impartial, unbiased, dispassionate, objective mean free from favor toward either or any side. fair implies a proper balance of conflicting interests. a fair decision just implies an exact following of a standard of what is right and proper. a just settlement of territorial claims equitable implies a less rigorous standard than just and usually suggests equal treatment of all concerned. the equitable distribution of the property impartial stresses an absence of favor or prejudice. an impartial third party unbiased implies even more strongly an absence of all prejudice. your unbiased opinion dispassionate suggests freedom from the influence of strong feeling and often implies cool or even cold judgment. a dispassionate summation of the facts objective stresses a tendency to view events or persons as apart from oneself and one's own interest or feelings. I can't be objective about my own child

Impartial vs Partial

To be "partial to" or "partial toward" someone or something is to be somewhat biased or prejudiced, which means that a person who is partial really only sees part of the whole picture. To be impartial is the opposite. The United Nations sends impartial observers to monitor elections in troubled countries. We hope judges and juries will be impartial when they hand down verdicts. But grandparents aren't expected to be impartial when describing their new grandchild.

Examples of impartial in a Sentence

an impartial analysis of the case an impartial evaluation of the job applicant's qualifications that does not consider age, gender, or race

Recent Examples on the Web

Get our daily newsletter In the first three trials, the Mississippi Supreme Court chastised Mr Evans for violating Mr Flowers’s right to an impartial jury and reversed the convictions. — S.m. | New York, The Economist, "A prosecutor excluded black jurors from a murder trial," 21 June 2019 Is all of that enough to support the observer’s inference that the judge cannot be impartial on the relevant questions (or at least that the judge’s participation raises reasonable questions about his or her impartiality)? — Mark Tushnet, Vox, "Is it anti-Catholic to ask a Supreme Court nominee how her religion affects her decisions?," 5 July 2018 Trump had once said Curiel could not be impartial in the case due to his Mexican heritage. — Doug Criss, CNN, "A judge has finalized a $25 million settlement for students who claim they were defrauded by Trump University," 10 Apr. 2018 The internet was supposed to not only democratize information but also rationalize it—to create markets where impartial metrics would automatically surface the truest ideas and best products, at a vast and incorruptible scale. — Zeynep Tufekci, WIRED, "The Internet Has Made Dupes—and Cynics—of Us All," 24 June 2019 Participants—sixteen women aged between 40 and 65—deemed themselves to look up to three years younger at the study’s completion, while impartial dermatologists gauged a slight but significant increase in cheek fullness. — April Long, Town & Country, "Do Facial Exercises Really Work?," 4 June 2019 Sean Rayford/Getty Images Of course, Bannon is working to usher in just such a future, so his assessment of the populist movement’s success is not exactly impartial. — Alex Ward, Vox, "“A collapse of the center”: why fringe movements are winning around the world," 29 Oct. 2018 Asking the Council to be truly impartial is difficult, as the Human Rights Council is made up of member states rather than independent human rights experts. — Susan Hannah Allen, Washington Post, "The U.S. withdrew from the U.N. Human Rights Council. That’s not how the Council was supposed to work.," 26 June 2018 The Senate Intelligence Committee — which has so far conducted the least fractious and most impartial congressional probe — is expected to release a series of Russia reports in the weeks ahead. — Erin Kelly, USA TODAY, "Russia investigation: What's next for congressional probes?," 8 Apr. 2018

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'impartial.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.