biased
Americanadjective
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of biased
Explanation
When a skirt is cut at an angle, with one side higher than the other, it has a bias cut. Being biased is kind of lopsided too: a biased person favors one side or issue over another. While biased can just mean having a preference for one thing over another, it also is synonymous with "prejudiced," and that prejudice can be taken to the extreme. Sometimes a person is so biased, or is leaning so far in one direction, that it's hard to see the other position, creating unfairness in an argument or decision. Often, though, it's used more lightly: "My mom makes the best brownies in the world, but I might be a little biased."
Vocabulary lists containing biased
Tone and Point of View, List 1
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Florida EOC Civics
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Henry David Thoreau "Civil Disobedience" (1849)
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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.
His defence team has pointed to missing police reports, disputed evidence and "biased, sloppy and incomplete" detective work.
From BBC ● Aug. 18, 2026
He was freed after his conviction was overturned on procedural grounds, with the presiding judge also later ruled to have been biased.
From Barron's ● Aug. 5, 2026
“They have set up a system where it’s virtually impossible to sustain a biased policing complaint against an officer,” she said.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 24, 2026
He put this partially down to the first two weeks of the period tending to correlate with Wall Street two-year projections – which are biased lower.
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 20, 2026
Shouldn’t the focus be on improving ourselves, rather than challenging a biased system?
From "The New Jim Crow" by Michelle Alexander
Definitions 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.
