unfair
Americanadjective
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not fair; not conforming to approved standards, as of justice, honesty, or ethics.
an unfair law;
an unfair wage policy.
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disproportionate; undue; beyond what is proper or fitting.
an unfair share.
adjective
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characterized by inequality or injustice
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dishonest or unethical
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of unfair
First recorded before 900; 1705–15 unfair for def. 1; Middle English: “uncomely, ugly”; Old English unfæger; cognate with Old Norse ūfagr; un- 1 + fair 1
Explanation
If something's unfair, it's not just or equitable. If your brother carelessly broke your mother's favorite vase, it would be unfair for her to punish both of you. We all know that when things are fair, they're unbiased or they follow the rules. Unfair is the exact opposite, so an unfair ruling in court isn't based on principles of justice, and an unfair grade on your book report might be due to your English teacher's bias against graphic novels. The original meaning of this adjective was "not lovely" or "hideous," from the "beautiful" definition of fair.
Vocabulary lists containing unfair
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Services for children are in a "state of emergency" and young people across England are facing extreme and unfair inequality, a new report says.
From BBC ● Oct. 19, 2026
To help remedy unfair disparity between sentences, Congress created the U.S.
From Slate ● Oct. 18, 2026
Chief defence lawyer Sheila Sison called the ruling "completely unfair", noting prosecutors had already put 14 witnesses on the stand to lay out evidence against the vice president.
From Barron's ● Oct. 13, 2026
But no one has figured out a way of punishing cheats without imposing unfair costs on innocent bystanders.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 12, 2026
Another remarked that complaining about unfair treatment was risky because his boss would try to “burn” him out with work.
From "A Few Red Drops: The Chicago Race Riot of 1919" by Claire Hartfield
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Get a wordDefinitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
