inequity
Americannoun
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inequities
plural
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lack of equity; unfairness; favoritism or bias.
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an unfair circumstance or proceeding.
noun
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lack of equity; injustice; unfairness
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an unjust or unfair act, sentence, etc
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
Etymology
Origin of inequity
Compare meaning
How does inequity compare to similar and commonly confused words? Explore the most common comparisons:
Explanation
The noun inequity describes a situation that’s not fair. If you feel, for example, that your brother gets to do whatever he wants while you must follow the rules to the letter, you might rage against inequity. The prefix in- in inequity means “not” or “opposite of.” Equity, means "justice or fairness." Put it together and you get inequity: something that’s unfair or unjust. The word can be used to describe a wide range of unfair situations, such as an inequity in a school's buying new equipment for the football team while the field hockey team continues to wear uniforms from 1981.
Vocabulary lists containing inequity
President Biden's Inaugural Speech (January 2021)
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I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings
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The First Democratic Debate: Candidates' Most Relevant Words
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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:
But the more open you are with each other, the more you can, in theory, combat inequity.
From MarketWatch ● May 20, 2026
That addressed a genuine inequity in coverage, but made it so clinicians are paid more when they diagnose more cases.
From The Wall Street Journal ● May 10, 2026
A new law, which came into force in December, aims to correct that historical inequity, by allowing not just the children of Canadians to claim citizenship, but anyone who can prove an ancestral tie.
From BBC ● May 1, 2026
There have been many examples of inequity between the men’s and women’s tournaments.
From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 3, 2026
Shouldn’t we focus the public’s attention on the so-called root causes of mass incarceration, such as educational inequity?
From "The New Jim Crow" by Michelle Alexander
In other words, AI is unable to treat evidence — or people — equally with context and knowledge of how that evidence relates to the inequities built into museums and image archives themselves.
From Salon ● Jul. 28, 2026
The impact of higher gas prices fell hardest on lower-income Americans, threatening to further exacerbate inequities among income groups.
From Barron's ● May 6, 2026
As a whole, these oldest baby boomers are better educated and wealthier than previous generations—although huge inequities exist.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 13, 2026
“Yet, their challenges are compounded by under-resourced systems, evolving administrative priorities, and persistent inequities in access and support, especially for students from disproportionately impacted backgrounds.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 1, 2026
More and more of the classes he took ad-dressed such pressing social issues as racism and world hunger and inequities in the distribution of wealth.
From "Into the Wild" by Jon Krakauer
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.
