prejudice
Americannoun
-
prejudices
plural
-
an unfavorable opinion or feeling formed beforehand or without knowledge, thought, or reason.
-
any preconceived opinion or feeling, either favorable or unfavorable.
- Synonyms:
- predisposition, predilection, partiality, preconception
-
unreasonable feelings, opinions, or attitudes, especially of a hostile nature, regarding an ethnic, racial, social, or religious group.
-
such attitudes considered collectively.
The war against prejudice is never-ending.
-
damage or injury; detriment.
a law that operated to the prejudice of the majority.
verb (used with object)
-
prejudices,
present (3rd person singular)
-
prejudiced,
past participle, past
-
prejudicing
present participle
idioms
noun
-
an opinion formed beforehand, esp an unfavourable one based on inadequate facts
-
the act or condition of holding such opinions
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intolerance of or dislike for people of a specific race, religion, etc
-
disadvantage or injury resulting from prejudice
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to the detriment of
-
law without dismissing or detracting from an existing right or claim
verb
-
to cause to be prejudiced
-
to disadvantage or injure by prejudice
Usage
What does prejudice mean? Prejudice is a bias or a preconceived opinion, idea, or belief about something. When you act based on prejudice, you make up your mind about something and make generalizations about it before fully knowing about it. Though a prejudice can be positive, the word most often refers to unfair and strongly held negative judgments—especially hostile judgments about certain people. Prejudice can refer to a specific instance of such a belief, as in He clearly has a prejudice against people of color, or such beliefs collectively, as in We need to eliminate prejudice from society. Prejudice against people can be based on many parts of their identity, including race, ethnicity, religion, gender or gender identity, sexuality, and language. Such prejudices often create stereotypes about members of such groups. A common and widespread form of prejudice is racism, in which a person believes in the superiority of what they consider to be their own “race” over others. This most often takes the form of believing that those with other skin colors—especially darker skin colors—are inferior physically, intellectually, morally, and/or culturally, and mistreating and discriminating against them because of this. However, the word racism is often used to refer to more than just a prejudice or an active hatred but to a system of oppression based on such prejudice (often called systemic racism or institutional racism). Someone who has a prejudice against others can be described as prejudiced. Unfair treatment based on prejudice or causing prejudice can be described as prejudicial. Less commonly, the word prejudice can also be used as a verb meaning to cause to be prejudiced against someone or something, as in Bad press has prejudiced many voters against the candidate.
Synonym Usage
See bias.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
-
prejudicesimple
-
prejudicessimple
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have prejudicedperfect
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has prejudicedperfect
-
am prejudicingprogressive
-
are prejudicingprogressive
-
is prejudicingprogressive
-
have been prejudicingperfect progressive
-
has been prejudicingperfect progressive
Past
-
prejudicedsimple
-
had prejudicedperfect
-
was prejudicingprogressive
-
were prejudicingprogressive
-
had been prejudicingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of prejudice
First recorded in 1250–1300; Middle English, from Old French, from Latin praejūdicium “prejudgment,” originally “preliminary or previous judicial inquiry,” equivalent to prae- pre- + jūdicium “legal proceedings, judging” ( jūdic-, stem of jūdex judge + -ium -ium )
Explanation
If you have a negative attitude towards someone based on race or ethnicity rather than personal experience, you might be accused of prejudice. Prejudice is remarkably similar to its Latin root in form and meaning; the Latin praejudicium means "judgment in advance." A racial prejudice is a negative attitude towards a group of people based on race — not on direct knowledge or experience. If you prejudice someone, you cause them to have a negative attitude towards someone else. Lawyers are not allowed to bring certain types of evidence such as rumors into a trial because it might prejudice the jury.
Vocabulary lists containing prejudice
Power Prefix: pre-
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You Be the Judge: Jud, Jur, Jus
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List 6
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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:
The case was dismissed without prejudice, meaning it could be refiled, and was not the result of a settlement, Bloomberg Law reported.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 4, 2026
Sly and the Family Stone’s message of overcoming prejudice and treating everyone with dignity, including ourselves, matches their steadfast dedication to making all their fans feel loved, especially children.
From Salon ● Aug. 29, 2026
Plus, next month a judge has scheduled a hearing to decide whether Hearn’s dismissed charges should be held with prejudice, so the DOJ can’t charge him again for the same alleged conduct.
From Slate ● Aug. 13, 2026
His work fighting racial prejudice wasn’t limited to the world of sports.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 30, 2026
“But I am very much, and without being at all ashamed of it. My love for Mr. and Mrs. Weston gives me a decided prejudice in his favour.”
From "Emma" by Jane Austen
All teams are defined, to some measure, on the preferences and prejudices of their managers.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 12, 2026
It reflects our passions and prejudices, our sense of reality and romance.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 24, 2026
Aa a pop star with 10 years of hits under her belt, she says big artists need to shed their prejudices about Eurovision.
From BBC ● May 17, 2026
Here, Borgli only skims the surface, counting on subtext to imply that Charlie and Rachel have been forced to confront innate prejudices about their partners, who are both Black.
From Salon ● Apr. 3, 2026
It was good for the kids to have some awareness of such prejudices, but to see Zeitoun disappointed, to get him so worked up after a long day—it wasn’t worth it.
From "Zeitoun" by Dave Eggers
Economic need can unite white Americans in support of more generous welfare policies, including among some who are racially prejudiced.
From Salon ● Jan. 19, 2026
Labour county councillor Jewel Miah, who was also in the briefing, said Abbott's remarks were prejudiced and has called for him to resign.
From BBC ● Jan. 9, 2026
Helder Barbalho, the governor of the state of Para, where Belem is located, slammed "the prejudiced" comments on the X social network.
From Barron's ● Nov. 18, 2025
Alex’s team filed the long-anticipated appeal of his convictions, arguing there were errors during his trial that prejudiced the jury in his case.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 15, 2025
Surprisingly, after everything that happened to her parents, she said they raised her “not to have a prejudiced bone in her body.”
From "The Freedom Writers Diary" by The Freedom Writers
The effective double trial led each executive to produce more damaging claims about the other, thus prejudicing the jury against the defendants, the lawyers said.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 14, 2026
"I will do so without prejudicing their decision because we have to follow the clinical advice on this."
From BBC ● Mar. 17, 2026
An Environment Agency spokesman said they were "actively investigating" the dumping and had shared "as much information as we can with the residents of Highnam without prejudicing any further enforcement action".
From BBC ● Jan. 22, 2026
“Plaintiffs’ concealment of their identities is prejudicing the Robinsons’ defense,” the motion alleges.
From Los Angeles Times ● May 29, 2025
Science only begins on the day when we have found the simple theory which binds together all the facts at that time known, without of course prejudicing the future.
From The Industries of Animals by Frédéric Houssay
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.
