inequity

American  

[in-ek-wi-tee] / ɪnˈɛk wɪ ti /

noun

• inequities
  plural

1. lack of equity; unfairness; favoritism or bias.

2. an unfair circumstance or proceeding.

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inequity British  

/ ɪnˈɛkwɪtɪ /

noun

1. lack of equity; injustice; unfairness

2. an unjust or unfair act, sentence, etc

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Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• inequities
  plural

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Etymology

Origin of inequity

First recorded in 1550–60; in- ³ + equity

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Compare meaning

How does inequity compare to similar and commonly confused words? Explore the most common comparisons:

• inequity vs. iniquity

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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.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

inequity inequities

"There's a wide inequity between women in more affluent areas and women in poorer areas."

From BBC ● Oct. 5, 2026

The minister has highlighted the inequity that Nepal should suffer the extreme impacts of climate change when it has one of the world's lowest per-capita carbon emissions.

From Barron's ● Aug. 31, 2026

Familiar—that is to say cliched—accounts of bad men, power games and gender inequity sometimes make “Good Company” tough going.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 28, 2026

But the more open you are with each other, the more you can, in theory, combat inequity.

From MarketWatch ● May 20, 2026

Corporal Whitcomb, an atheist, was a disgruntled subordinate who felt he could do the chaplain’s job much better than the chaplain was doing it and viewed himself, therefore, as an underprivileged victim of social inequity.

From "Catch-22" by Joseph Heller

The market for earlier detection does not just reflect the inequities in American healthcare.

From Slate ● Sep. 9, 2026

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

In the words of one 1930s journalist quoted by Mr. Dillon, the glaring inequities of Shanghai in the 19th and early 20th centuries made it “a complete political ulcer on the face of China.”

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 17, 2026

"While historical injustices from colonialism to inequities in the global economic order are real, we must also acknowledge that other regions have faced similar challenges, but they have risen above them," Ruto told the summit.

From Barron's ● Apr. 23, 2026

On a trip to Chicago in 1893, short, round fireball Ida Wells got to know tall, debonair, easygoing Ferdinand Barnett as they worked together on a pamphlet calling out racial inequities.

From "A Few Red Drops: The Chicago Race Riot of 1919" by Claire Hartfield

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Related Words

• injustice
• unfairness

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