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Synonyms

skewed

American  
[skyood] / skyud /

adjective

  1. distorted or biased; giving an unfair or misleading view of something.

    After the global financial crisis, he came to realize that traditional economic models offer very skewed representations of actual economic reality.

  2. having an oblique or slanting direction or position; shaped, cut, or placed on a slant.

    When mounting a streetlight pole, orientation of the anchor bolts is important so that the pole base is not skewed in relation to the centerline of the roadway.

  3. deliberately slanted so as to conform to a specific concept or attitude, cater to the interests of a particular group, etc. (sometimes used in combination).

    The network has launched a new youth-skewed telenovela that has been averaging around 28 million viewers in Brazil.

    His world view is skewed to the concept that the strong exist to dominate the weak, so he judges people by their direct worth to him.

  4. Statistics. (of a distribution) having a disproportionate number of data points above or below the mean.

    There is a very skewed distribution of income, with the top 20 percent of the population earning 20 times what is earned by the poorest 20 percent.


verb

  1. the simple past tense and past participle of skew.

Other Word Forms

Etymology

Origin of skewed

skew ( def. ) + -ed 2 ( def. )

Explanation

Something skewed is slanted or off-center in some way. A picture frame or viewpoint can be skewed. This is a word, like so many, that can apply to physical things or ideas. A painting on the wall is skewed if it's leaning to one side. Also, opinions are often skewed: this is another way of saying someone is biased. People often accuse news reports of being skewed toward one political viewpoint. A movie could be skewed toward one character more than the other. When you think of skewed, think of leaning and slanting of all sorts.

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Vocabulary lists containing skewed

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.

As the co-founder and co-director of Skewed Visions, a performing arts organization, Kayim created and directed plays, but a career in the arts, as an artist, wasn’t financially feasible, the profile noted.

From Seattle Times • Jun. 14, 2023

Skewed sex ratios are rampant among lab animals.

From Science Magazine • Dec. 2, 2021

Skewed incentives mean traders are rewarded for pursuing short-term profits; the cost of their mistakes will be borne by shareholders or, ultimately, taxpayers.

From Economist • Aug. 20, 2015

Skewed used to describe data that is not symmetrical; when the right side of a graph looks “chopped off” compared the left side, we say it is “skewed to the left.”

From Textbooks • Sep. 19, 2013

Skewed upwards and only a few men in any given population were having children with multiple women as in polygynous systems.

From Scientific American • Jan. 6, 2012

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