fair

a public showing of objects of interest a dazzling array of sleek cabin cruisers at the annual boat fair Synonyms display, exhibit, expo, exposition, exhibition, showRelated Words demonstration, performance, presentation, production; extravaganza, pageant, spectacle; auction, offering, presentment, sale

1 not stormy or cloudy we prayed for fair weather during our vacation at the beach Synonyms bright, clear, cloudless, sunny, sunshiny, unclouded Related Words balmy, clement, gentle, mild, moderate, temperate; calm, halcyon, peaceful, placid, serene, tranquil; fine, pleasant Near Antonyms harsh, inclement, severe; blustering, blustery, breezy, gusty; foggy, hazy, misty, murky, soupy Antonyms bleak, cloudy, dirty, foul, nasty, overcast, rainy, raw, rough, squally, stormy, sunless, tempestuous, turbulent

2 marked by justice, honesty, and freedom from bias a commanding officer who enjoyed the respect of his soldiers because his decisions were always fair Synonyms candid, disinterested, dispassionate, equal, equitable, evenhanded, impartial, indifferent, just, nonpartisan, objective, square, unbiased, unprejudiced Related Words frank, forthright, open, straight, straightforward; balanced, rational, reasonable Near Antonyms deceitful, deceptive, dishonest; arbitrary, unconscionable, unreasonable; jaundiced, unfriendly, unsympathetic; colored, distorted, warped Antonyms biased, ex parte, inequitable, nonobjective, one-sided, partial, parti pris, partisan, prejudiced, unjust

3 following or according to the rules a hockey player who is respected for his fair play Synonyms clean, legal, sportsmanlike, sportsmanly Related Words just, law-abiding; ethical, moral, principled, scrupulous; honorable, irreproachable, unimpeachable Near Antonyms immoral, unethical, unprincipled, unrighteous, unscrupulous, vicious, wrong Antonyms dirty, foul, nasty, unfair, unsportsmanlike

4 of light complexion fair people tend to sunburn easily Synonyms light Related Words ashen, ashy, pale, paled, palish, pallid, pasty, peaked, peaky, sallow, sallowish, wan, white Antonyms black, brunet (or brunette), dark, swart, swarthy

5 having qualities which inspire hope as long as the team keeps playing as hard as they can, they have a fair chance of winning—no matter what the scoreboard says Synonyms auspicious, bright, encouraging, hopeful, golden, heartening, likely, optimistic, promising, propitious, roseate, rose-colored, rosy, upbeatRelated Words cheering, comforting, reassuring, soothing; assured, confident, decisive, doubtless, positive, sure, unhesitating; beamish, bullish, eupeptic; favorable, goodNear Antonyms cheerless, comfortless; doubtful, dubious, uncertain; bearish, grim, negative, unfavorable; funereal, glum, gray (also grey), miserable, wretchedAntonyms bleak, dark, depressing, desperate, discouraging, disheartening, dismal, downbeat, dreary, gloomy, hopeless, inauspicious, pessimistic, unencouraging, unlikely, unpromising, unpropitious

6 of a pale yellow or yellowish brown color the abundance of people with fair hair in Scandinavia Synonyms blond, flaxen, golden, sandy, straw, tawnyRelated Words ocherous (or ochreous); ash-blond (or ash-blonde), blondish, strawberry blonde (or strawberry blond), towheaded; gold, light, whiteNear Antonyms black-a-vised, brown, brunet (or brunette), dark, olive, swart, swarthy; black, ebony, raven

7 of average to below average quality for what they charged us, the painters should have done better than a fair job of painting the house Synonyms common, mediocre, indifferent, medium, middling, ordinary, passable, run-of-the-mill, run-of-the-mine (or run-of-mine), second-class, second-rate, so-soRelated Words acceptable, adequate, all right, alright, decent, OK (or okay), reasonable, satisfactory, sufficient, sufficing, tolerable; moderate, modest; presentable, respectable; minimal, unexceptional; fine, good, niceNear Antonyms A1, capital, choice, classic, distinguished, excellent, exceptional, exquisite, fabulous, fantastic, fine, first-class, first-rate, grand, great, marvelous (or marvellous), matchless, maximum, nifty, number one (also No. 1), optimal, optimum, outstanding, par excellence, peerless, preeminent, prime, sensational, special, splendid, stellar, sterling, superb, superior, superlative, supreme, swell, terrific, tip-top, top, top-notch; unmatched, unparalleled, unsurpassed; deficient, inadequate, insufficient, lacking, unacceptable, unsatisfactory, wanting

8 very pleasing to look at generally considered the fairest girl in town, she had no lack of boyfriends Synonyms aesthetic (also esthetic or aesthetical or esthetical), attractive, beauteous, bonny (also bonnie) [chiefly British], comely, cute, drop-dead, beautiful, fetching, good, good-looking, goodly, gorgeous, handsome, knockout, likely, lovely, lovesome, pretty, ravishing, seemly, sightly, stunning, taking, well-favoredRelated Words alluring, appealing, charming, cunning, delightful, engaging, fascinating, glamorous (also glamourous), prepossessing; elegant, exquisite, glorious, Junoesque, magnificent, resplendent, splendid, statuesque, sublime, superb; flawless, perfect, radiant; dainty, delicate; personable, pleasant, presentable; chocolate-box, prettyish; desirable, dishy, dollish, foxy, hot, luscious, nubile, pulchritudinous, seductive, sexy, tasty, toothsome, yummy; hunky, studly [slang]; arresting, eye-catching, flamboyant, flashy, glossy, showstopping, showy, slick, snazzy, splashy, striking, zingy; photogenic, telegenicNear Antonyms abhorrent, abominable, bad, disagreeable, disgusting, dreadful, foul, frightful, ghastly, horrible, loathsome, nasty, nauseating, objectionable, offensive, repellent (also repellant), repugnant, repulsive, revolting, shocking, sickening, terrible, vile; unappealing, unappetizing, unimposing, unpleasant, unprepossessing; frumpish, frumpy, unbecoming, unshapely; Gorgonian, haggish, witchyAntonyms grotesque, hideous, homely, ill-favored, plain, ugly, unaesthetic, unattractive, unbeautiful, uncomely, uncute, unhandsome, unlovely, unpleasing, unpretty, unsightly

9 having no exceptions or restrictions it would take a fair miracle for that project to be finished on time Synonyms all-out, arrant, blank, blooming [chiefly British], bodacious [Southern & Midland], categorical (also categoric), clean, complete, consummate, cotton-picking, crashing, damn, damned, dead, deadly, definite, downright, dreadful, absolute, flat, flat-out, out-and-out, outright, perfect, plumb, profound, pure, rank, regular, sheer, simple, stark, stone, straight-out, thorough, thoroughgoing, total, unadulterated, unalloyed, unconditional, unmitigated, unqualified, utter, veryRelated Words authentic, classic, genuine, real, veritable; constant, endless, eternal, perpetual, undying, unremitting; extreme, unrestricted; confirmed, habitual, hopeless, inveterate; extraordinary, frightful, horrible, huge, main, superlative, supreme, surpassing, terrible, terrificNear Antonyms doubtful, dubious, equivocal, qualified, questionable, restricted, uncertain

10 being what is called for by accepted standards of right and wrong most thought his dismissal was fair since he had been given many chances to clean up his act Synonyms competent, condign, deserved, due, just, justified, merited, right, rightful, warrantedRelated Words applicable, appropriate, apt, fit, fitting, meet, proper, requisite, suitable; lawful, legal, legitimate; accurate, correct, true; rhadamanthine, strict, stringent, uncompromising; equitable, impartial, squareNear Antonyms incoherent, incorrect, irrelative, irrelevant; improper, inapplicable, inapposite, inappropriate, inapt, indefensible, unjustifiable, unreasonable, unsuitable; biased, inequitable, partial, unequal; arbitrary, despotic; illegitimate, unlawfulAntonyms undeserved, undue, unfair, unjust, unjustified, unmerited, unwarranted

11 free from dirt or stain a handwritten thank-you letter requires nothing less than a sheet of fair white paper Synonyms antiseptic, chaste, clean, immaculate, pristine, spick-and-span (or spic-and-span), spotless, squeaky-clean, stainless, unsoiled, unstained, unsulliedRelated Words pure, taintless, undefiled, unpolluted, untainted, wholesome; cleanly, germfree, hygienic, sanitary, sterile; abluted, bleached, cleansed, purified, scrubbed, washed, whitened; milky, snowy, white; flawless, unblemished; bright, shiny, sparklingNear Antonyms dingy, greasy, grimy, mucky, muddy, unwashed; defiled, germy, polluted, tainted, unsterile, unsterilized; blackened, discoloredAntonyms besmirched, dirty, filthy, foul, grubby, smirched, soiled, spotted, stained, sullied, unclean, uncleaned

1 according to the rules or the law we expect everyone on this basketball court to play fair Synonyms clean, cleanly, fairly, legallyRelated Words ethically, high-mindedly, morally, nobly; honorablyNear Antonyms ignobly, immorally, underhandedly, unethically; dishonorablyAntonyms dirty, illegally

2 chiefly British  very close to but not completely it fair takes your breath away when you find out what properties in London are going for Synonyms about, all but, borderline, almost [chiefly British], fairly, feckly [chiefly Scottish], more or less, most, much, near, nearly, next to, nigh, practically, somewhere, virtually, well-nighRelated Words appreciably, by and large, chiefly, largely, mainly, mostly; kind of, partially, partly, somewhatNear Antonyms absolutely, altogether, completely, entirely, fully, plain, plumb [chiefly dialect], quite, thoroughly; totally, utterly, well, wholly; barely, hardly, scarcely