prejudicial

adjective

prej·​u·​di·​cial ˌpre-jə-ˈdi-shəl How to pronounce prejudicial (audio)
1
: tending to injure or impair : detrimental
a transfer prejudicial to other creditors
2
: leading to premature judgment or unwarranted opinion
prejudicial evidence
prejudicially adverb
prejudicialness noun

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 on the Web When canvassers engaged voters in typical back-and-forth arguments, few voters who had prejudicial opinions changed them. Elizabeth Svoboda, Scientific American, 17 Sep. 2024 The defense motion characterizes the press coverage of Madigan as negative, slanted and prejudicial. Brett Rowland | The Center Square, Washington Examiner - Political News and Conservative Analysis About Congress, the President, and the Federal Government, 6 Sep. 2024 In a 4-3 ruling the court found that allowing women who were not part of the case to testify about Weinstein’s behavior was prejudicial. Naman Ramachandran, Variety, 5 Sep. 2024 Baldwin’s lawyers filed a motion in March claiming special prosecutor Kari T. Morrissey gave prejudicial instructions to the grand jury, which indicted the actor in January. Eric Andersson, Peoplemag, 28 June 2024 See all Example Sentences for prejudicial 

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'prejudicial.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

First Known Use

15th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Time Traveler
The first known use of prejudicial was in the 15th century

Dictionary Entries Near prejudicial

Cite this Entry

“Prejudicial.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/prejudicial. Accessed 7 Oct. 2024.

Kids Definition

prejudicial

adjective
prej·​u·​di·​cial ˌprej-ə-ˈdish-əl How to pronounce prejudicial (audio)
: tending to cause damage : detrimental

Legal Definition

prejudicial

adjective
prej·​u·​di·​cial ˌpre-jə-ˈdi-shəl How to pronounce prejudicial (audio)
: having the effect of prejudice: as
a
: tending to injure or impair rights
such a transfer would be prejudicial to other creditors
b
: leading to a decision or judgment on an improper basis
the evidence was excluded because it was more prejudicial than probative

More from Merriam-Webster on prejudicial

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