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Synonyms

impartial

American  
[im-pahr-shuhl] / ɪmˈpɑr ʃəl /

adjective

  1. not partial or biased; fair; just.

    an impartial judge.

    Synonyms:
    equitable, unprejudiced, unbiased
    Antonyms:
    biased

impartial British  
/ ɪmˈpɑːʃəl /

adjective

  1. not prejudiced towards or against any particular side or party; fair; unbiased

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Synonym Usage

See fair 1.

Other Word Forms

Etymology

Origin of impartial

First recorded in 1585–95; im- 2 + partial

Explanation

If you're in a contest, you'd better hope the judges are impartial. That means that they aren't biased toward one competitor over another. If you’re partial to the color green, you love green and wear it all the time. If you’re impartial to colors, you don’t care what color you wear. To be impartial is to be objective, so you don’t mind one way or another how something is going to turn out. It’s important for jurors to be impartial when reaching a verdict, rather than allowing biases and preconceptions affect their judgment.

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Vocabulary lists containing impartial

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.

Impartial justice under such a system is doubtful.

From The Wall Street Journal • Jan. 9, 2026

In an attempt to ensure accountability for crimes in Syria, the United Nations has established what it calls an “International, Impartial and Independent Mechanism.”

From Seattle Times • Feb. 2, 2023

Impartial election observers said they had not seen “significant irregularities” or any evidence of misdoing.

From New York Times • Dec. 20, 2022

Notably, Fair and Impartial Policing offered training with the Minneapolis Police Department—which until recently employed Derek Chauvin, the officer who killed Floyd—as part of a wider $300,000 city contract in 2015.

From Slate • Jun. 18, 2020

Impartial as ever, the authors have here achieved a felicity of phrase to which no other writers of hunting novels have ever approached.

From Humours of Irish Life by Various

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