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.
The problem is that, with time, the scales of common sense can become biased, as Linda Goodman’s life shows, and Evangeline Adams’ clients learned, perhaps too late.
From Slate • May 5, 2026
Studies have shown that industry-funded science tends to be biased in favor of the sponsor’s products.
From Salon • May 5, 2026
“Most judges are good, but too many of them are biased either toward the prosecution or the defense,” he said.
From Los Angeles Times • May 1, 2026
They have "been our source of how the mission is going from the public perspective," Wiseman said, before adding "obviously they're all biased".
From BBC • Apr. 9, 2026
Yet there is often a weak correlation between degrees of explicit and implicit bias; many people who think they are not biased prove when tested to have relatively high levels of bias.
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.
