impartial
Americanadjective
adjective
Synonym Usage
See fair 1.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Etymology
Origin of impartial
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.
Vocabulary lists containing impartial
The Bill of Rights
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Positive Adjectives to Describe People
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Essential Academic Vocabulary for Middle School Students, List 10
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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.
“In the end, it felt like in working so hard to be impartial, we guaranteed that Hunter would meet the worst possible legal fate,” she writes.
From The Wall Street Journal • Jun. 1, 2026
A British Red Cross spokesperson said: "We are a neutral and impartial humanitarian organisation and to protect our vital work, we do not take part in party-political activity or campaigns."
From BBC • May 6, 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
Her priorities are ensuring fair and impartial justice and enhancing trust.
From Los Angeles Times • May 1, 2026
We sought review in the Alabama Supreme Court and won a new trial based on the trial judge's refusal to exclude people from jury service who were biased and could not be impartial.
From "Just Mercy" by Bryan Stevenson
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.
