as in foul
not being in accordance with the rules or standards of what is fair in sport
a team that is notorious throughout the league for its record of unfair play
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Recent Examples of unfair
At the end of the day, the better argument to be made would be that the play is an unfair advantage.
—
Evan Massey, MSNBC Newsweek, 1 Oct. 2025
An even bigger issue that could make this unfair competition is that the Chinese government has been showering their country's manufacturers with subsidies.
—Greg Rosalsky, NPR, 30 Sep. 2025
Defensively, Hunter’s been excellent, with 10 tackles, a pass breakup and one unfair pass interference penalty on a game-winning play.
—Jacob Robinson, New York Times, 30 Sep. 2025
Readers were quick to weigh in, pointing out that while Ella’s messiness is unfair to the household, her personal choices aren’t necessarily her roommate’s responsibility.
—Ashley Vega, PEOPLE, 29 Sep. 2025
See All Example Sentences for unfair
Evan Massey, MSNBC Newsweek, 1 Oct. 2025
An even bigger issue that could make this unfair competition is that the Chinese government has been showering their country's manufacturers with subsidies.
—Greg Rosalsky, NPR, 30 Sep. 2025
Defensively, Hunter’s been excellent, with 10 tackles, a pass breakup and one unfair pass interference penalty on a game-winning play.
—Jacob Robinson, New York Times, 30 Sep. 2025
Readers were quick to weigh in, pointing out that while Ella’s messiness is unfair to the household, her personal choices aren’t necessarily her roommate’s responsibility.
—Ashley Vega, PEOPLE, 29 Sep. 2025
See All Example Sentences for unfair
Recent Examples of Synonyms for unfair
Adjective
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StudioCanal, which produces the Paddington movies, and Paddington Bear’s rights holders are suing Avalon after the British producer’s Spitting Image series on YouTube depicted Paddington as a foul-mouthed podcast host.—
Jake Kanter,
Deadline,
6 Oct. 2025
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Three days earlier, Rocchio had ended Cleveland’s regular season with a three-run blast off the right-field foul pole, a walk-off homer that propelled the club into postseason mode.—
Zack Meisel,
New York Times,
2 Oct. 2025
Adjective
-
Louisville police say anything that goes into the air or explodes is illegal for average citizens.—
James Bruggers,
The Courier-Journal,
5 July 2017
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Official fireworks shows took place over the city, and illegal pyrotechnics lit up the sky everywhere in between.—
Lisa Beebe,
Los Angeles Magazine,
5 July 2017
Adjective
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And what about all that nasty mother stuff?—
Brian Tallerico,
Vulture,
4 Oct. 2025
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The wedding ballads can wait; this nasty jam should still get the dancefloor packed in the meantime.—
Andrew Unterberger,
Billboard,
3 Oct. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Unfair.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/unfair. Accessed 7 Oct. 2025.
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