prejudice

1 of 2

noun

prej·​u·​dice ˈpre-jə-dəs 

1

a

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

b(1)

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

(2)

: preconceived judgment or opinion

c

: an instance of such opinion or judgment

2

: 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

prejudice

2 of 2

verb

prejudiced; prejudicing

transitive verb

1

: to cause to have prejudice

2

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

Did you know?

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

Synonyms

Noun

• bias

Verb

• bias
• turn

Choose the Right Synonym for 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

Examples of prejudice in a Sentence

Noun

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.

Verb

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 on the Web

Noun

The series maintains a light touch and a brisk pace while managing to touch on class disparity and cultural prejudice without ever feeling preachy or forced. —Wesley Stenzel, EW.com, 26 June 2025

But as with most anything, inherent prejudice reared its ugly head. —Karu F. Daniels, New York Daily News, 26 June 2025

Verb

Because the Attorney General has chosen to proceed in this way, Mr. Mangione’s Due Process rights have already been violated and the manner in which the Government has acted has prejudiced the grand jury pool and has corrupted the grand jury process. —Aaron Katersky, ABC News, 11 Apr. 2025

Once criminal proceedings are underway, strict rules also prevent the reporting of information about the case that could prejudice a jury at trial. —Alex Marshall, New York Times, 30 May 2025

Word History

Etymology

Noun and Verb

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

First Known Use

Noun

13th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Verb

15th century, in the meaning defined at sense 2

Kids Definition

prejudice

1 of 2 noun

prej·​u·​dice ˈprej-əd-əs 

1

: injury or damage to a case at law or to one's rights

2

a

: a favoring or dislike of something without good reason

b

: unfriendly feelings directed against an individual, a group, or a race

prejudice

2 of 2 verb

prejudiced; prejudicing

1

: to cause damage to (as a case at law)

newspaper stories prejudiced the murder case

2

: to cause to have prejudice : bias

the incident prejudiced them against that company

Etymology

Noun

Middle English prejudice "injury from a judgment, an opinion formed before knowing the facts," from early French prejudice (same meaning), from Latin praejudicium "previous judgment," from prae- "pre-, before" and judicium "judgment," from judic-, judex "judge," from jus "right, law" and dicere "to say" — related to judge, just

Legal Definition

prejudice

1 of 2 noun

prej·​u·​dice ˈpre-jə-dəs 

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

prejudice

2 of 2 transitive verb

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

Etymology

Noun

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