one-sided

[wuhn-sahy-did]

adjective

1. considering but one side of a matter or question; partial or unfair.

   a one-sided judgment.

2. with one party, contestant, side, etc., vastly superior; unbalanced; unequal.

   a one-sided fight.

3. existing or occurring on one side only.

4. having but one side, or but one developed or finished side.

5. having one side larger or more developed than the other.

6. Law.,  involving the action of one person only.

7. having the parts all on one side, as an inflorescence.

one-sided

adjective

1. considering or favouring only one side of a matter, problem, etc

2. having all the advantage on one side

3. larger or more developed on one side

4. having, existing on, or occurring on one side only

5. another term for unilateral

6. denoting a surface on which any two points can be joined without crossing an edge See Möbius strip

Other Word Forms

• one-sidedness noun
• one-sidedly adverb

Word History and Origins

Origin of one-sided¹

First recorded in 1805–15

Example Sentences

Game 3 was a one-sided clunker, but Game 1, Game 2 and Game 4 all went to sudden-death OT —hockey’s equivalent of dangling you over a bridge by your shoelaces while laughing maniacally.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

While most of those recent shut-outs have come in one-sided qualifiers, we already know Pickford's worth in big games and shootouts at major tournaments too.

Read more on BBC

His bond with Indy is pure and strong, yet one-sided in that Todd is too distracted to ease the dog’s fears.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

His deal offers are, of course, invariably one-sided and self-serving, but as he loses power, so too will he lose the capacity to make deals solely on his terms.

Read more on Salon

In their brief, intense interaction, Lockjaw develops a covetous one-sided relationship with his conqueror, as rooted in fetishistic lust as it is racism and control.

Read more on Salon

Related Words

• discriminatory 
• partisan 
• unequal 
• unfair 
• unjust