favouritism

British

/ ˈfeɪvrɪ-, ˈfeɪvərɪˌtɪzəm /

noun

the practice of giving special treatment to a person or group
the state of being treated as a favourite

"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

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.

But he also detailed why those races were not examples of deliberate favouritism.

From BBC • Oct. 28, 2025

Piastri said: "I'm very happy that there's no favouritism or bias."

From BBC • Oct. 16, 2025

Novak Djokovic, the 24-time Slam winner, questioned the fairness of the process and said there is "favouritism" towards high-profile players.

From BBC • Feb. 18, 2025

"It does appear to be favouritism towards the better players on the tour," Broady added.

From BBC • Feb. 17, 2025

Of course, officially, guardians weren’t supposed to show favouritism, but there were little displays of affection all the time within certain parameters; and most of what Ruth suggested fell easily within them.

From "Never Let Me Go" by Kazuo Ishiguro

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023