as in bias
the unfair practice of treating some people better than others
The favoritism of the boss led to many disgruntled employees. He accused the teacher of showing favoritism in assigning grades.
Related Words
Relevance
Dissimilar Words
Example Sentences
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.
Read More
Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of favoritism
Musk alleges improper favoritism, especially given Apple’s high-profile partnership with OpenAI, announced in June 2024, that integrates ChatGPT more deeply with iPhones, iPads, and Macs.
—
Andrew Nusca, Fortune, 13 Aug. 2025
That boosts government favoritism, distorting the market and risking backing inefficient companies and products.
—The Editorial Board, Oc Register, 13 Aug. 2025
He was placed on administrative leave in spring 2023 over concerns related to classroom management, professional judgment, and favoritism.
—Sarah Rumpf-Whitten, FOXNews.com, 5 Aug. 2025
Draw legislative district boundaries based on favoritism and not the broad public interest?
—Peter Jensen, Baltimore Sun, 3 Aug. 2025
See All Example Sentences for favoritism
Andrew Nusca, Fortune, 13 Aug. 2025
That boosts government favoritism, distorting the market and risking backing inefficient companies and products.
—The Editorial Board, Oc Register, 13 Aug. 2025
He was placed on administrative leave in spring 2023 over concerns related to classroom management, professional judgment, and favoritism.
—Sarah Rumpf-Whitten, FOXNews.com, 5 Aug. 2025
Draw legislative district boundaries based on favoritism and not the broad public interest?
—Peter Jensen, Baltimore Sun, 3 Aug. 2025
See All Example Sentences for favoritism
Recent Examples of Synonyms for favoritism
Noun
-
In that vacuum, Republicans have often ascribed political bias as the motivation without providing concrete evidence to back it up, said Stevenson, the debanking expert.—
Jake Pearson,
ProPublica,
9 Sep. 2025
-
The state alleges Alam intentionally selected the church primarily because of his bias or prejudice against the state of Israel or the Jewish faith.—
Fort Worth Star-Telegram,
Fort Worth Star-Telegram,
9 Sep. 2025
Noun
-
With any luck, it will someday be reversed, like other famous examples of Supreme Court decisions that reflected prejudice against African-Americans, Japanese-Americans, and others.—
Noah Feldman,
Mercury News,
10 Sep. 2025
-
This sensual, swoon-worthy drama dares to imagine love thriving where prejudice prevails.—
Glenn Garner,
Deadline,
10 Sep. 2025
Noun
-
Political nepotism perpetuates the recycling of the same leaders, leaving young people without representation or a voice in governance.—
Sonal Nain,
MSNBC Newsweek,
12 Sep. 2025
-
The fact that Montreal’s defining MLS traits have been impatience and inconsistency give fans every reason to suspect incompetence until proven otherwise even without the bright red flashing light of supposed nepotism.—
Ian Nicholas Quillen,
Forbes.com,
19 Aug. 2025
Noun
-
The absence of corruption, scandal, self-dealing and cronyism makes this a revitalizing break from real-world concerns, without in any way veering into sappy idealism.—
David Rooney,
HollywoodReporter,
27 Aug. 2025
-
Applied broadly, this approach of empowering competition rather than cronyism will incentivize innovation and entrepreneurship and help restore our past economic vitality.—
Wayne Winegarden,
Forbes.com,
26 Aug. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Favoritism.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/favoritism. Accessed 13 Sep. 2025.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share