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.
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Recent Examples of favoritism
During the toddler years many children begin expressing favoritism.
—
Kimberly Zapata, Parents, 2 Oct. 2025
Success in combat is less subjective than success in many other activities and therefore leaves less room for favoritism, rent seeking, and old-fashioned sandbagging.
—Dan Brooks, The Atlantic, 2 Oct. 2025
Gonzalez, the former National Security Council official, said senior policymakers thought that embassy staff were showing favoritism to Bukele, sending reports that minimized the growing crisis of democracy in El Salvador.
—T. Christian Miller, ProPublica, 30 Sep. 2025
Part of that shortage appears to have been addressed with direct appointments by judges from the bench — an uncommon practice that is often avoided over concerns of favoritism swaying those decisions.
—Jakob Rodgers, Mercury News, 27 Sep. 2025
See All Example Sentences for favoritism
Kimberly Zapata, Parents, 2 Oct. 2025
Success in combat is less subjective than success in many other activities and therefore leaves less room for favoritism, rent seeking, and old-fashioned sandbagging.
—Dan Brooks, The Atlantic, 2 Oct. 2025
Gonzalez, the former National Security Council official, said senior policymakers thought that embassy staff were showing favoritism to Bukele, sending reports that minimized the growing crisis of democracy in El Salvador.
—T. Christian Miller, ProPublica, 30 Sep. 2025
Part of that shortage appears to have been addressed with direct appointments by judges from the bench — an uncommon practice that is often avoided over concerns of favoritism swaying those decisions.
—Jakob Rodgers, Mercury News, 27 Sep. 2025
See All Example Sentences for favoritism
Recent Examples of Synonyms for favoritism
Noun
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The bias cut of the dress gave way to a long, flowing maxiskirt.—
Julia Teti,
Footwear News,
28 Oct. 2025
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Despite what the students view as anti-conservative bias, one predicted a conservative uprising, citing the assassination of Charlie Kirk as fuel for more right-leaning college students to speak out.—
Peter D'Abrosca,
FOXNews.com,
27 Oct. 2025
Noun
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In July 2024, Baldwin’s involuntary manslaughter trial ended by being dismissed with prejudice after his attorneys argued that prosecutors had buried evidence.—
Jack Smart,
PEOPLE,
31 Oct. 2025
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The case against Taylor Swift Productions was dismissed with prejudice last month.—
Jenna Sundel,
MSNBC Newsweek,
27 Oct. 2025
Noun
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Wright previously faced an ethics investigation for nepotism in hiring his own son as a deputy, which is against state law, and allegedly used his force's helicopter for flights that had no work- related purposes, according to local reporting.—
Mason Leath,
ABC News,
30 Oct. 2025
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The topic of nepotism came up in a new interview with Skarsgård in Vulture, when the outlet pointed out that many of his eight children — including Bill, Alexander, and Gustaf — have become actors like their father.—
Lauren Huff,
Entertainment Weekly,
24 Oct. 2025
Noun
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Some might say there was a lot of cronyism involved, and there definitely was, but the DJs at WHRB put a lot of work into promoting us on the show Record Hospital.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
23 Oct. 2025
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Yet as China moves closer to the technological frontier, where success depends on unpredictable breakthrough innovations, top-down monitoring becomes more difficult, and the system grows more vulnerable to cronyism.—
CARL BENEDIKT FREY,
Foreign Affairs,
1 Oct. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Favoritism.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/favoritism. Accessed 3 Nov. 2025.
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