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
2a (1) : preconceived judgment or opinion (2) : an adverse opinion or leaning formed without just grounds or before sufficient knowledgeb : an instance of such judgment or opinionc : an irrational attitude of hostility directed against an individual, a group, a race, or their supposed characteristics
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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
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There is a stigma associated with microcephaly in Brazil, and a prejudice against the disabled in general — some mothers had even been abandoned by their partners after their children were diagnosed with the birth defect.
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That suggests that the nature of contact matters not just for disarming prejudice but for shaping politics.
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There is no room in this world for any kind of prejudice.
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This week, Pankaj Mishra and Leslie Jamison discuss whether writers can ever truly put aside their own prejudices and interpretations.
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There is no room in this world for any kind of prejudice.
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Despite the prejudice and racial hatred that suffuse the movie’s rural Virginia, whites and African-Americans there live lives that are inextricably intertwined and interdependent.
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Motivated by prejudice, many in the media threw aside standards of fairness and balance and even the pretense thereof.
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Thanks to Mr. Trump, fringe ideas are now aired in the mainstream, prejudice masquerading as fact.
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
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
Synonym Discussion of prejudice
Other Sociology Terms
Definition of prejudice
prejudiced
;prejudicing
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
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Roof raised a few oral objections to pieces of evidence in court, explaining in a court filing that constant interruptions might prejudice the jury.
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Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump, each played their own respective part in the mass criminalization and imprisonment of black bodies, from Trump’s prejudiced call for the execution of the Central Park 5, to Sec.
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But neither is Trump’s outreach mere reassurance to white voters that he is not prejudiced against people of color.
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Once charges have been brought, British media law prohibits any reporting about the case that might prejudice a trial.
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One allegation against the hard left in Britain is that its aggressive criticism of American foreign policy, Israel, the mainstream media, and global finance can amount, on occasion, to prejudice against Jews.
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The protesters see the government’s decision as prejudiced against the occupants of central Afghanistan, most of whom are Hazaras, a group emerging from a long history of oppression.
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New York’s rules of professional conduct say lawyers generally should not make statements to reporters outside court that are likely to prejudice the legal proceeding.
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This is the kind of demagoguery that could prejudice a prosecution, or mobilize a mob.
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.
Origin and Etymology of prejudice
see 1prejudice
PREJUDICE Defined for English Language Learners
prejudice
playDefinition of prejudice for English Language Learners
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: an unfair feeling of dislike for a person or group because of race, sex, religion, etc.
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: a feeling of like or dislike for someone or something especially when it is not reasonable or logical
prejudice
playDefinition of prejudice for English Language Learners
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: to cause (someone) to have an unfair feeling of dislike for someone or something
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: to have a harmful effect on (something, such as a legal case)
PREJUDICE Defined for Kids
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
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
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
3a : 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
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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Thesaurus: All synonyms and antonyms for prejudice Spanish Central: Translation of prejudice Nglish: Translation of prejudice for Spanish speakers Britannica English: Translation of prejudice for Arabic speakers Britannica.com: Encyclopedia article about prejudice
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