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impartial

American  
[im-pahr-shuhl] / ɪmˈpɑr ʃəl /

adjective

  1. not partial or biased; fair; just.

    an impartial judge.

    Synonyms:
    equitable, unprejudiced, unbiased
    Antonyms:
    biased

impartial British  
/ ɪmˈpɑːʃəl /

adjective

  1. not prejudiced towards or against any particular side or party; fair; unbiased

"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

Related Words

See fair 1.

Other Word Forms

Etymology

Origin of impartial

First recorded in 1585–95; im- 2 + partial

Explanation

If you're in a contest, you'd better hope the judges are impartial. That means that they aren't biased toward one competitor over another. If you’re partial to the color green, you love green and wear it all the time. If you’re impartial to colors, you don’t care what color you wear. To be impartial is to be objective, so you don’t mind one way or another how something is going to turn out. It’s important for jurors to be impartial when reaching a verdict, rather than allowing biases and preconceptions affect their judgment.

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Vocabulary lists containing impartial

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.

Polymarket’s website says External link that “UMA token holders are an impartial arbiter” of market outcomes.

From Barron's • May 12, 2026

That would have shattered the plausibly impartial image that allowed Kelly her fantasy of legitimacy and a profitable future in traditional news.

From Slate • May 6, 2026

Credible, reliable and impartial evidence is the goal of legitimate science.

From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 14, 2026

What’s more coldly impartial, however, is the economic research.

From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 27, 2026

Given the secrecy of the exhibition, he was as close to impartial as the Perkins team was going to get.

From "The Parker Inheritance" by Varian Johnson

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