prejudice

American  

[prej-uh-dis] / ˈprɛdʒ ə dɪs /

noun

1. an unfavorable opinion or feeling formed beforehand or without knowledge, thought, or reason.

2. any preconceived opinion or feeling, either favorable or unfavorable.

   Synonyms:

   predisposition, predilection, partiality, preconception

3. unreasonable feelings, opinions, or attitudes, especially of a hostile nature, regarding an ethnic, racial, social, or religious group.

4. such attitudes considered collectively.

   The war against prejudice is never-ending.

5. damage or injury; detriment.

   a law that operated to the prejudice of the majority.

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verb (used with object)

prejudiced, prejudicing

1. to affect with a prejudice, either favorable or unfavorable.

   His honesty and sincerity prejudiced us in his favor.

   Synonyms:

   influence, bias

idioms

1. without prejudice, without dismissing, damaging, or otherwise affecting a legal interest or demand.

prejudice British  

/ ˈprɛdʒʊdɪs /

noun

1. an opinion formed beforehand, esp an unfavourable one based on inadequate facts

2. the act or condition of holding such opinions

3. intolerance of or dislike for people of a specific race, religion, etc

4. disadvantage or injury resulting from prejudice

5. to the detriment of

6. law without dismissing or detracting from an existing right or claim

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verb

1. to cause to be prejudiced

2. to disadvantage or injure by prejudice

prejudice Cultural  

1. A hostile opinion about some person or class of persons. Prejudice is socially learned and is usually grounded in misconception, misunderstanding, and inflexible generalizations. In particular, African-Americans have been victims of prejudice on a variety of social, economic, and political levels. (See civil rights movement and segregation.)

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Usage

What does prejudice mean? Prejudice is a bias or a preconceived opinion, idea, or belief about something. When you act based on prejudice, you make up your mind about something and make generalizations about it before fully knowing about it. Though a prejudice can be positive, the word most often refers to unfair and strongly held negative judgments—especially hostile judgments about certain people. Prejudice can refer to a specific instance of such a belief, as in He clearly has a prejudice against people of color, or such beliefs collectively, as in We need to eliminate prejudice from society. Prejudice against people can be based on many parts of their identity, including race, ethnicity, religion, gender or gender identity, sexuality, and language. Such prejudices often create stereotypes about members of such groups. A common and widespread form of prejudice is racism, in which a person believes in the superiority of what they consider to be their own “race” over others. This most often takes the form of believing that those with other skin colors—especially darker skin colors—are inferior physically, intellectually, morally, and/or culturally, and mistreating and discriminating against them because of this. However, the word racism is often used to refer to more than just a prejudice or an active hatred but to a system of oppression based on such prejudice (often called systemic racism or institutional racism). Someone who has a prejudice against others can be described as prejudiced. Unfair treatment based on prejudice or causing prejudice can be described as prejudicial. Less commonly, the word prejudice can also be used as a verb meaning to cause to be prejudiced against someone or something, as in Bad press has prejudiced many voters against the candidate.

Related Words

See bias.

Other Word Forms

• nonprejudiced adjective
• prejudicedly adverb
• prejudiceless adjective
• quasi-prejudiced adjective

Etymology

Origin of prejudice

First recorded in 1250–1300; Middle English, from Old French, from Latin praejūdicium “prejudgment,” originally “preliminary or previous judicial inquiry,” equivalent to prae- pre- + jūdicium “legal proceedings, judging” ( jūdic-, stem of jūdex judge + -ium -ium )

Explanation

If you have a negative attitude towards someone based on race or ethnicity rather than personal experience, you might be accused of prejudice. Prejudice is remarkably similar to its Latin root in form and meaning; the Latin praejudicium means "judgment in advance." A racial prejudice is a negative attitude towards a group of people based on race — not on direct knowledge or experience. If you prejudice someone, you cause them to have a negative attitude towards someone else. Lawyers are not allowed to bring certain types of evidence such as rumors into a trial because it might prejudice the jury.

Example Sentences

"It is important that nothing is said that could prejudice the court proceedings that will now follow, so it would be inappropriate to comment further at this stage."

From BBC • Apr. 15, 2026

In their disgust with the traditional media, revealed in survey after survey, their feelings are perhaps founded on more than mere prejudice.

From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 7, 2026

Clarke also dismissed the $29-million lawsuit, which arose from a ferocious dispute among the sibling heirs to an Oregon winery fortune, with prejudice, so it can’t be refiled.

From Los Angeles Times • Mar. 27, 2026

"We must stamp out the hate, fear and prejudice that drives Islamophobia and division in our society."

From BBC • Mar. 20, 2026

Just as zero suffered from Greek prejudice, other numbers were ignored as well, numbers that made no geometric sense.

From "Zero: The Biography of a Dangerous Idea" by Charles Seife

Related Words

• animosity
• bias
• bigotry
• chauvinism
• discrimination
• enmity
• injustice
• intolerance
• preconception
• predilection
• predisposition
• racism
• sexism
• xenophobia