prejudice
Americannoun
-
prejudices
plural
-
an unfavorable opinion or feeling formed beforehand or without knowledge, thought, or reason.
-
any preconceived opinion or feeling, either favorable or unfavorable.
- Synonyms:
- predisposition, predilection, partiality, preconception
-
unreasonable feelings, opinions, or attitudes, especially of a hostile nature, regarding an ethnic, racial, social, or religious group.
-
such attitudes considered collectively.
The war against prejudice is never-ending.
-
damage or injury; detriment.
a law that operated to the prejudice of the majority.
verb (used with object)
-
prejudices,
present (3rd person singular)
-
prejudiced,
past participle, past
-
prejudicing
present participle
idioms
noun
-
an opinion formed beforehand, esp an unfavourable one based on inadequate facts
-
the act or condition of holding such opinions
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intolerance of or dislike for people of a specific race, religion, etc
-
disadvantage or injury resulting from prejudice
-
to the detriment of
-
law without dismissing or detracting from an existing right or claim
verb
-
to cause to be prejudiced
-
to disadvantage or injure by prejudice
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.
Synonym Usage
See bias.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
-
prejudicesimple
-
prejudicessimple
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have prejudicedperfect
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has prejudicedperfect
-
am prejudicingprogressive
-
are prejudicingprogressive
-
is prejudicingprogressive
-
have been prejudicingperfect progressive
-
has been prejudicingperfect progressive
Past
-
prejudicedsimple
-
had prejudicedperfect
-
was prejudicingprogressive
-
were prejudicingprogressive
-
had been prejudicingperfect progressive
Future
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.
Vocabulary lists containing prejudice
Power Prefix: pre-
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You Be the Judge: Jud, Jur, Jus
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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.
See Examples For:
A judge had ordered that the trial be held behind closed doors "to ensure that no prejudice is caused to the interests of national security".
From BBC ● Nov. 6, 2026
Ordering her release, a magistrate said Mubaiwa had suffered mental, physical and financial prejudice during the trial, state-owned daily the Herald said.
From BBC ● Oct. 27, 2026
She filed her request to dismiss the suit with prejudice — meaning she cannot bring the case before a court again — on Tuesday.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 6, 2026
Superior Court Judge Todd Edelman agreed to dismiss the criminal case against David Hearn with prejudice on Thursday, prohibiting the federal government from reviving the felony charge against him.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 1, 2026
No one had ever suggested to me how to go about removing the evils of racial prejudice, and I had to learn by trial and error.
From "Long Walk to Freedom" by Nelson Mandela
Marti Burgess, who has been a co-owner of the nightclub Lakota since 1994, says although attitudes have changed over the years, some prejudices remain.
From BBC ● Oct. 24, 2026
Two decades ago, Baron Cohen used his hit film "Borat: Cultural Learnings of American for Make Benefit Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan" as a sociological mirror to lay bare certain prejudices within US society.
From Barron's ● Oct. 23, 2026
All teams are defined, to some measure, on the preferences and prejudices of their managers.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 12, 2026
It reflects our passions and prejudices, our sense of reality and romance.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 24, 2026
The judge advised the jury members that they must set aside sympathies or prejudices for either side.
From "Killers of the Flower Moon" by David Grann
Lawyers for a second fraternity member, Winston Lee, have argued that James’s comment has prejudiced any future grand jury proceedings.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 29, 2026
Abbott, who represents the Stoney Stanton and Croft division, said he was "not being prejudiced" or "tarring anyone" and was stating a concern "from his residents".
From BBC ● Jan. 9, 2026
Helder Barbalho, the governor of the state of Para, where Belem is located, slammed "the prejudiced" comments on the X social network.
From Barron's ● Nov. 18, 2025
In court documents reviewed by the New York Times, the defense has accused Halligan of “irregularities so severe and pervasivevthat they likely prejudiced the grand jurors’ narrow decision to indict.”
From Salon ● Nov. 6, 2025
Years later, they would shake their heads and call themselves prejudiced, but at the time they were profoundly disconcerted.
From "Typical American" by Gish Jen
Cat Little, permanent secretary at the Cabinet Office, said that some of the documents could "now be published without prejudicing their investigation".
From BBC ● Nov. 5, 2026
The effective double trial led each executive to produce more damaging claims about the other, thus prejudicing the jury against the defendants, the lawyers said.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 14, 2026
Police asked Downing Street not to publish the exchanges yet to avoid prejudicing their ongoing investigation.
From BBC ● Mar. 11, 2026
An Environment Agency spokesman said they were "actively investigating" the dumping and had shared "as much information as we can with the residents of Highnam without prejudicing any further enforcement action".
From BBC ● Jan. 22, 2026
Enemies were at work prejudicing the mind of Urban VIII., making him feel that Galileo had wrought evil to the church.
From Famous Men of Science by Sarah K. Bolton
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