prejudice

1 of 2

noun

prej·​u·​dice ˈpre-jə-dəs 

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

prejudice

2 of 2

verb

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

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
• favor
• nonobjectivity
• one-sidedness
• parti pris
• partiality
• partisanship
• ply
• tendentiousness

Verb

• bias
• poison
• 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

See More

Recent Examples on the Web

Noun

And does this change come with a new perspective, and a new host of acts and prejudices others are willing to enact on us? —Hazlitt, 20 Sep. 2023

By the end of the 1960s, most children sent abroad were not biracial but born to unwed mothers, another target of prejudice in South Korea. —Choe Sang-Hun, BostonGlobe.com, 17 Sep. 2023

Even without the suspicion that authorities show toward Buddhism, the school and its community still have to deal with the government’s prejudice against Roma and desire to control the country’s education system. —Marc Loustau, The Christian Science Monitor, 6 Sep. 2023

Saúl is a gay man who has had to face prejudice in his family and in the world, and his battle for respect in the ring is depicted as a crucial part of his wider quest.—Richard Brody Pick Three The staff writer Naomi Fry on the most stylish documentaries. —The New Yorker, 15 Sep. 2023

The Hollywood studio has already rolled out its Content for Change program in Canada to support local content creators and drive out bias, discrimination and prejudice in the local film and TV industry. —Etan Vlessing, The Hollywood Reporter, 13 Sep. 2023

Court records show the class B misdemeanor assault charge filed last month against Ron Gibson, 50, was dismissed on Aug. 31 without prejudice, meaning the case can be refiled if prosecutors choose to. —Jacob Scholl, The Salt Lake Tribune, 9 Sep. 2023

As many critics have pointed out, Marvel superheroes quite obviously reflect or critique the attitudes and prejudices of postwar America. —Michael Dirda, Washington Post, 8 Sep. 2023

Misogyny by textbook definition is hatred or prejudice against women. —Elizabeth Ayoola, Essence, 23 Aug. 2023

Verb

Opponents of the bill, including the California Catholic Conference, said the proposals were prejudiced, in favor of one reproductive health choice over another. —Mackenzie Mays, Los Angeles Times, 21 Sep. 2023

Courts Veteran San Diego defense lawyer collapses during court argument, later dies June 13, 2023 Fraser ruled that Cline and Cutter had proven McInnis was prejudiced by the 27 years that passed between the crime and McInnis being charged. —Alex Riggins, San Diego Union-Tribune, 19 Aug. 2023

Or, for that matter, prejudice the prosecution's position. —Dory Jackson, Peoplemag, 17 Aug. 2023

All of that will prejudice Johnson’s ability to receive a fair trial and mount a defense, his attorneys said. —Amy Lavalley, Chicago Tribune, 9 Aug. 2023

Any further delays will substantially prejudice the State’s rights. —Taylor Romine, CNN, 28 July 2023

While her time in office was winding down, her defense lawyers moved to have the trial transferred out of Baltimore, arguing that pervasive media coverage of Mosby prejudiced the jury pool against her. —Alex Mann, Baltimore Sun, 30 June 2023

Mears argued Stoner’s comments toward their request had prejudiced the prosecutor's ability to pursue the case. —Jake Allen, The Indianapolis Star, 15 May 2023

In a motion filed on Monday, Steel pushed back on the prosecution's allegation that Young Thug's actions led to a delay in the trial and argued that this characterization by the Fulton County District Attorney's Office is an attempt to prejudice the public and the jury against the rapper. —Deena Zaru, ABC News, 25 Jan. 2023

See More

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 1

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