prejudicial

adjective

ˌpre-jə-ˈdi-shəl How to pronounce prejudicial (audio)
Definition of prejudicialnext
1
as in detrimental
causing or capable of causing harm pretrial publicity that may be extremely prejudicial to a defendant's right to a fair trial

Synonyms & Similar Words

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in adverse
opposed to one's interests the defense will try to counterbalance the mass of prejudicial evidence presented by the prosecution

Synonyms & Similar Words

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

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 prejudicial Sooknanan also became the subject of a bar complaint filed last week by the watchdog group Democracy Restored, which accused the judge of dishonesty and conduct prejudicial to the administration of justice during her tenure as a senior DOJ official. — Kaelan Deese, The Washington Examiner, 7 July 2026 In addition, the judge was right to exclude from evidence Motsinger’s 1970s-era LSD and marijuana use as irrelevant, prejudicial and improper character evidence, the Motsinger attorneys further state. — City News Service, Daily News, 31 May 2026 Musk’s lawyers argued that such sentiments were blatantly prejudicial. — Gideon Lewis-Kraus, New Yorker, 20 May 2026 In 2022, however, the Georgia Supreme Court tossed out the murder verdict (PDF), saying that prosecutors had introduced needlessly inflammatory and prejudicial material about Harris’ personal life at his trial. — Nate Anderson, ArsTechnica, 14 May 2026 See All Example Sentences for prejudicial
Recent Examples of Synonyms for prejudicial
  1. detrimental
  2. adverse
  3. harmful
  4. negative
  5. damaging
  6. unfavorable
  7. dangerous
  8. hostile
Adjective
  • Republicans are starting to realize that many of their president’s actions are detrimental to their extended political livelihoods.
    — Laura Washington, Chicago Tribune, 23 Sep. 2026
  • Garofalo and Cosco were among a scant few women who have chosen – or been able – to escape their crime families, albeit with inarguably detrimental results.
    — Barbie Latza Nadeau, CNN Money, 21 Sep. 2026
Definition of detrimental
Adjective
  • Of those, several found modest associations linking the mother’s use of her phone with adverse measures of fetal growth.
    — New Atlas, New Atlas, 24 Sep. 2026
  • Mac Haddow, with the American Kratom Association, said the FDA and states that have banned kratom are conflating the natural product with synthetic and chemically manipulated ones, which are associated with adverse effects and even deaths.
    — ABC News, ABC News, 24 Sep. 2026
Definition of adverse
Adjective
  • Neon plans a 2027 theatrical release under the Creative Commons license for the open-source horror film based on a fictional secretive organization that keeps supernatural items and other harmful entities away from the public.
    — Etan Vlessing, HollywoodReporter, 30 Sep. 2026
  • Executives from six major AI companies signed a one-page document pledging to monitor their models and prevent harmful uses such as hacking.
    — Brittney Melton, NPR, 30 Sep. 2026
Definition of harmful
Adjective
  • Solomon has also previously drawn negative press over his hobby of DJing.
    — Morgan Chittum, Fortune, 1 Oct. 2026
  • Harming any of these beings results in negative karma, which further traps souls in samsara.
    — Encyclopedia Britannica, Encyclopedia Britannica, 30 Sep. 2026
Definition of negative
Adjective
  • But the longer City digs its heels in, the more damaging this will get for everyone involved.
    — Ben Church, CNN Money, 30 Sep. 2026
  • As a result, Christian was charged with disorderly conduct and damaging property.
    — Joseph Shapiro, NPR, 30 Sep. 2026
Definition of damaging
Adjective
  • The agreement, which excluded some aspects of previous international proposals that Rhodesia had found unfavorable, also bypassed the PF leaders and their considerable support base.
    — Chinatsu Tsuji, Encyclopedia Britannica, 29 Sep. 2026
  • Independent Leadership Council pollster Brett Loyd attributed Kiley’s increase to a larger number of voters in the district who have unfavorable views of both major political parties.
    — Mathew Miranda, Sacbee.com, 29 Sep. 2026
Definition of unfavorable
Adjective
  • Wickline came on as an increasingly flustered Anthropic CEO, Dario Amodei, who’s explaining why AI is dangerous without taking any responsibility for that.
    — Rima Parikh, Vulture, 27 Sep. 2026
  • The slow-moving storm, which killed a New York City housing authority worker when a tree fell Saturday, was expected to linger through Sunday with heavy rain, strong winds and dangerous surf all the way to New England.
    — Leah Willingham, Los Angeles Times, 27 Sep. 2026
Definition of dangerous
Adjective
  • In a hostile divorce proceeding, the first camp to attack has a major advantage.
    — Rafaela Bassili, Vulture, 2 Oct. 2026
  • The mission’s goal is to evaluate how the chips fare during the launch, as well as in the hostile space environment.
    — Adam Kovac, Scientific American, 1 Oct. 2026
Definition of hostile

Browse Nearby Words

prejudices
prejudicial
prejudicing
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Cite this Entry

“Prejudicial.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/prejudicial. Accessed 4 Oct. 2026.

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