prejudicial

adjective prej·u·di·cial \ ˌpre-jə-ˈdi-shəl \

Definition of prejudicial

1 :tending to injure or impair :detrimental

a transfer prejudicial to other creditors

2 :leading to premature judgment or unwarranted opinion

prejudicial evidence

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prejudicially

play \-ˈdi-sh(ə-)lē\ adverb

—

prejudicialness

play \-shəl-nəs\ noun

See prejudicial defined for English-language learners

See prejudicial defined for kids

Examples of prejudicial in a Sentence

The judge ruled that the prejudicial effect of the evidence outweighed its value.
pretrial publicity that may be extremely prejudicial to a defendant's right to a fair trial

Recent Examples of prejudicial from the Web

Molly’s progress on this front is significant considering her prejudicial anti-therapy stance last season.

— cate young, Cosmopolitan, "Insecure Returns With Issa Missing Lawrence and Molly Going to Therapy," 24 July 2017
Childress countered that anything short of the full viewing by jurors would be prejudicial to Rak.

— dan campana, Elgin Courier-News, "Son's trial for father's Burlington Township murder set to begin Monday," 13 July 2017
Research shows that Trump activated a swath of voters that had been searching for a politician who would run an openly prejudicial campaign—

— eric armstrong, New Republic, "Kris Kobach Is Preparing to Be the Next Trump," 7 July 2017
Underhill agreed the revelation would be highly prejudicial to Duckett, and of little value in helping the jury determine his guilt or innocence on any particular charge.

— matthew kauffman, courant.com, "Final Witness In Dillon Stadium Fraud Case Tells Jurors Of Mysterious Company," 5 July 2017
In October, the commission filed charges of willful misconduct, conduct prejudicial to the administration of justice and improper action against Kreep.

— greg moran, sandiegouniontribune.com, "State judicial discipline commission weighs fate of San Diego Judge Gary Kreep," 28 June 2017
In 2008 and 2012, they were forced to prioritize their values and, without a candidate running an explicitly prejudicial campaign, largely came down on the side of the Democrats.

— alex shephard, New Republic, "How Culture Became the Main Fault Line in American Politics," 24 June 2017
Our country has made great strides in dismantling prejudicial laws that have deprived too many of our fellow Americans of their precious rights.

— monique judge, The Root, "California Bans Travel to 4 More States that Discriminate Against LGBT Americans," 24 June 2017
Washington's defense lawyer has argued in court papers that there was no conspiracy, and any testimony about Sorenson dying from an overdose of drugs, including heroin, would be prejudicial to his client.

— maxine bernstein, OregonLive.com, "3 indicted as source of heroin in Clackamas man's overdose death," 23 June 2017

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

First Known Use of prejudicial

15th century

prejudicial Synonyms

Synonyms

adverse, bad, baleful, baneful, damaging, dangerous, deleterious, detrimental, evil, hurtful, ill, injurious, mischievous, nocuous, noxious, pernicious, harmful, wicked

Antonyms

anodyne, benign, harmless, hurtless, innocent, innocuous, inoffensive, safe

Near Antonyms

advantageous, beneficial, useful; favorable, good, propitious; curative, healthful, healthy, helpful, palliative, remedial, salubrious, salutary, wholesome; secure, sound; benignant; noncorrosive, nondestructive, nonfatal, noninfectious, nonlethal, nonpoisonous, nonpolluting, nontoxic, nonvenomous

PREJUDICIAL Defined for English Language Learners

prejudicial

adjective

Definition of prejudicial for English Language Learners

: showing an unfair feeling of dislike for a person or group because of race, sex, religion, etc. : showing prejudice
: causing or likely to cause injury or harm to someone or something