prejudice

noun prej·u·dice \ ˈpre-jə-dəs \

Updated on: 23 May 2018

Definition of prejudice

1 : injury or damage resulting from some judgment or action of another in disregard of one's rights; especially : detriment to one's legal rights or claims

2 a (1) : preconceived judgment or opinion

(2) : an adverse opinion or leaning formed without just grounds or before sufficient knowledge

b : an instance of such judgment or opinion

c : an irrational attitude of hostility directed against an individual, a group, a race, or their supposed characteristics

See prejudice defined for English-language learners

See prejudice defined for kids

Examples of prejudice in a Sentence

But today most black Americans not hampered by poverty or prejudice take for granted their right to study Italian, listen to Britney Spears or opera, play in the NHL, eat Thai food, live anywhere, work anywhere, play anywhere, read and think and say anything. —Stephan Talty, Mulatto America, 2003
It is easy to suppose at this late date that there is barely any overt racism left in the United States, … Kennedy's catalog of mundane cases of explicit anti-black prejudice provides ample illustration of what lurks beneath the surface politeness of many whites. —John McWhorter, New Republic, 14 Jan. 2002
The boundaries between hate and prejudice and between prejudice and opinion and between opinion and truth are so complicated and blurred that any attempt to construct legal and political fire walls is a doomed and illiberal venture. —Andrew Sullivan, New York Times Magazine, 26 Sept. 1999
When my mother, who, unlike my father, was Jewish, encountered unpleasant social prejudice during my high-school years, I acquired a second marginal identity. —Carl E. Schorske, Thinking with History, 1998
The organization fights against racial prejudice.
religious, racial, and sexual prejudices
We tend to make these kinds of decisions according to our own prejudices.
He has a prejudice against fast-food restaurants.

Recent Examples of prejudice from the Web

That may be just enough to rouse young people from their apolitical prejudices and get them to the polls in November.

— ed kilgore, Daily Intelligencer, "The Democratic Wave May Depend on Millennials Becoming Unusually Motivated to Vote," 17 May 2018
Their resumes were examined without prejudice of genre.

— cleveland.com, "Bon Jovi to The Beatles: Ranking every Rock Hall Inductee," 12 Apr. 2018
The judge dismissed the charge without prejudice, meaning prosecutors could seek a new indictment to replace it.

— maxine bernstein, OregonLive.com, "Man who cites opposition to abortion for not paying taxes wins Round 1 in court," 12 Apr. 2018
Are the robot dogs a response to their prejudice toward real dogs?

— nina li coomes, The Atlantic, "Unpacking the Fictional Japan of Isle of Dogs," 31 Mar. 2018
Riley sought out the guy who had introduced him to college football with extreme prejudice when Riley was a walk-on quarterback at Texas Tech.

— andy staples, SI.com, "Lincoln Riley Prepares to Lead Oklahoma Into Life After Baker Mayfield," 19 Mar. 2018
Disturbingly, too, widening gaps occur in some of India’s richer regions, suggesting that rising income enables more parents to act on their prejudices.

— The Economist, "India’s gender gap is closing in some respects, but remains vast," 15 Mar. 2018
The trial judge agreed with the defense attorneys and moved to vacate Ortiz's case without prejudice, which means that military prosecutors can try him again.

— carl prine, latimes.com, "Marine general chastised, sergeant's conviction overturned in hazing case," 24 Feb. 2018
But as Americans put aside their pot prejudices, CBD users are spreading the gospel about its anti-inflammatory, anti-anxiety, anti-nausea properties.

— sarah rense, Esquire, "The 5 Best Cocktail Trends for 2018," 8 Feb. 2018

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

Prejudice: For or Against?

Although prejudice, with its connotations of intolerance , implies a negative bias, the word can be used in positive constructions:

I, too, appreciate projects that treat a difficult subject with rigor, although I'll confess to harboring a bit of prejudice toward thing-biographies.
Adam Baer, Harper's, May 2011

That's true for the participial adjective prejudiced as well:

“The question itself as posed in the survey obviously is prejudiced in favor of the program,” said Tod Story, executive director of the American Civil Liberties Union of Nevada.
Neal Morton, Las Vegas Review Journal, 2 Aug. 2016

In negative constructions, prejudice and prejudiced often precede against:

Lee County Circuit Judge Jacob Walker on Tuesday ruled that claims of juror misconduct by former House Speaker Mike Hubbard failed to show that the jury was prejudiced against Hubbard.
Mike Cason, AL.com, 19 Oct. 2016

Origin and Etymology of prejudice

Middle English, from Anglo-French, from Latin praejudicium previous judgment, damage, from prae- + judicium judgment — more at judicial

NEW! Time Traveler

First Known Use: 13th century

in the meaning defined at sense 1

See Words from the same year

prejudice Synonyms

Synonym Discussion of prejudice

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 Sociology Terms

bourgeois, ethos, eugenics, exurb, incommunicado, intelligentsia, megalopolis, metrosexual, mores, subculture

prejudice

verb

Definition of prejudice

prejudiced; prejudicing

transitive verb

1 : to injure or damage by some judgment or action (as in a case of law)

2 : to cause to have prejudice

See prejudice defined for English-language learners

Examples of prejudice in a Sentence

Paul Revere … engraved the drawing and printed hundreds of vividly colored copies, which traveled throughout the colonies. Well might one judge at Captain Preston's trial complain that "there has been a great deal done to prejudice the People against the Prisoner." —Hiller B. Zobel, American Heritage, July/August 1995
My friends would have had me delay my departure, but fearful of prejudicing my employers against me by such want of punctuality at the commencement of my undertaking, I persisted in keeping the appointment. —Anne Brontë, Agnes Grey, 1847
all the bad stories I had heard about the incoming CEO prejudiced me against him even before the first meeting

Recent Examples of prejudice from the Web

And Hill, as always an enigma, was able to fuse her own soulful hip-hop style with Simone's music in a way that captured not only the sound, but the intensity of an artist who fought prejudice her entire life.

— chuck yarborough, cleveland.com, "Rock Hall 2018: A look back at inductions' best, worst moments: Chuck Yarborough," 16 Apr. 2018
In the midst of the long regressive period between the end of Reconstruction and the dawn of the modern civil-rights movement, W. E. B. Du Bois considered the estrangement and prejudice African Americans faced in an 1897 article for The Atlantic.

— annika neklason, The Atlantic, "Animating the Atlantic Archives," 2 May 2018
The rights groups say he'd been detained since September 2015 and was convicted on charges including insulting Oman's ruler and using the internet to prejudice religious values.

— Fox News, "Rights groups say Omani activist dies serving prison term," 2 May 2018
At the time Keystone ReLeaf LLC filed its action in the Commonwealth Court, it was prejudiced by a lack of information resulting from the absolute secrecy that the Department of Health maintained about the scoring process.

— sam wood, Philly.com, "Full comment from Keystone ReLeaf on dismissal of case," 20 Apr. 2018
Defense attorneys Greg Cagle and Scott Courtney, who are representing the Thompsons, had argued that video of the event, which has been shown by media across the country, would prejudice a Harris County jury.

— brian rogers, Houston Chronicle, "Judge denies request to move murder case of deputy and husband accused of choking man at Denny's," 13 Apr. 2018
Having dogs and other emotional support animals in the witness box can illegitimately boost witness credibility and prejudice juries against defendants, Denver defense lawyer Christopher Decker argues.

— dave collins, The Christian Science Monitor, "Comfort dogs in courthouses lead to divide between judges, defenders," 5 Apr. 2018
Having dogs and other emotional support animals in the witness box can illegitimately boost witness credibility and prejudice juries against defendants, Denver defense lawyer Christopher Decker argues.

— dave collins, chicagotribune.com, "Comfort dogs in court do opposite for some defenders, judges," 5 Apr. 2018
Astarita's lawyers had argued that the three counts of making a false statement and two counts of obstruction of justice are needlessly repetitive and will prejudice Astarita and confuse a jury.

— maxine bernstein, OregonLive.com, "Judge refuses to dismiss any of the 5 charges against indicted FBI agent," 26 Feb. 2018

Origin and Etymology of prejudice

see ¹prejudice

NEW! Time Traveler

First Known Use: 15th century

in the meaning defined at sense 1

See Words from the same year

prejudice Synonyms

Synonyms

bias, poison, turn;

Related Words

dispose, incline, predispose;

influence, prepossess;

convince, persuade, suggest;

PREJUDICE Defined for English Language Learners

prejudice

noun

Definition of prejudice for English Language Learners

: an unfair feeling of dislike for a person or group because of race, sex, religion, etc.
: a feeling of like or dislike for someone or something especially when it is not reasonable or logical

prejudice

verb

Definition of prejudice for English Language Learners

: to cause (someone) to have an unfair feeling of dislike for someone or something
: to have a harmful effect on (something, such as a legal case)

PREJUDICE Defined for Kids

prejudice

noun prej·u·dice \ ˈpre-jə-dəs \

Definition of prejudice for Students

1 : a liking or dislike for one rather than another especially without good reason

She has a prejudice against department stores.

2 : a feeling of unfair dislike directed against an individual or a group because of some characteristic (as race or religion)

3 : injury or damage to a person's rights

prejudice

verb

Definition of prejudice for Students

prejudiced; prejudicing

1 : to cause to have an unfair dislike of

The incident prejudiced them against the company.

2 : to cause damage to (as a person's rights)

Newspaper stories prejudiced the upcoming trial.

Law Dictionary

prejudice

noun prej·u·dice \ ˈpre-jə-dəs \

legal Definition of prejudice

1 : injury or detriment to one's legal rights or claims (as from the action of another): as

a : substantial impairment of a defendant's ability to defend

the court found no prejudice to the defendant by the lengthy delay in bringing charges

b : tendency for a decision on an improper basis (as past conduct) by a trier of fact

whether an ex parte communication to a deliberating jury resulted in any reasonable possibility of prejudice to the defendant
—National Law Journal

c : implied waiver of rights and privileges not explicitly retained

District Court erred in attaching prejudice to prisoner's complaint for injunctive relief
—National Law Journal

2 : a final and binding decision (as an adjudication on the merits) that bars further prosecution of the same cause of action or motion

dismisses this case with prejudice

the dismissal was without prejudice

3 a : an irrational attitude of hostility directed against an individual, a group, a race, or their supposed characteristics

the Constitution does not prohibit laws based on prejudice per se
—R. H. Bork

b : an attitude or disposition (as of a judge) that prevents impartiality

that the judge before whom the matter is pending has a personal bias or prejudice…against him
—U.S. Code

Origin and Etymology of prejudice

Old French, from Latin praejudicium previous judgment, damage, from prae- before + judicium judgment

prejudice

transitive verb

legal Definition of prejudice

prejudiced; prejudicing

1 : to injure or damage the rights of by some legal action or prejudice

if the joinder of offenses or defendants…appears to prejudice a defendant or the government
—Federal Rules of Criminal Procedure Rule 14

2 : to injure or damage (rights) by some legal action or prejudice

that the denial prejudiced his right to a fair trial

this clause does not prejudice other rights

Learn More about prejudice

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prejudice

Definition of prejudice

Examples of prejudice in a Sentence

Recent Examples of prejudice from the Web

Prejudice: For or Against?

Origin and Etymology of prejudice

prejudice Synonyms

Synonyms

Antonyms

Near Antonyms

Related Words

Synonym Discussion of prejudice

Other Sociology Terms

prejudice

Definition of prejudice

Examples of prejudice in a Sentence

Recent Examples of prejudice from the Web

Origin and Etymology of prejudice

prejudice Synonyms

Synonyms

Related Words

PREJUDICE Defined for English Language Learners

prejudice

Definition of prejudice for English Language Learners

prejudice

Definition of prejudice for English Language Learners

PREJUDICE Defined for Kids

prejudice

Definition of prejudice for Students

prejudice

Definition of prejudice for Students

Law Dictionary

prejudice

legal Definition of prejudice

Origin and Etymology of prejudice

prejudice

legal Definition of prejudice

Learn More about prejudice

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