prejudice
Americannoun
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an unfavorable opinion or feeling formed beforehand or without knowledge, thought, or reason.
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any preconceived opinion or feeling, either favorable or unfavorable.
- Synonyms:
- predisposition, predilection, partiality, preconception
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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)
idioms
noun
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an opinion formed beforehand, esp an unfavourable one based on inadequate facts
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the act or condition of holding such opinions
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intolerance of or dislike for people of a specific race, religion, etc
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disadvantage or injury resulting from prejudice
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to the detriment of
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law without dismissing or detracting from an existing right or claim
verb
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to cause to be prejudiced
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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
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prejudicesimple
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prejudicessimple
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have prejudicedperfect
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has prejudicedperfect
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am prejudicingprogressive
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are prejudicingprogressive
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is prejudicingprogressive
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have been prejudicingperfect progressive
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has been prejudicingperfect progressive
Past
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prejudicedsimple
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had prejudicedperfect
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was prejudicingprogressive
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were prejudicingprogressive
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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 equal protection clause was written to provide a powerful weapon against entrenched prejudice.
From Slate ● Jul. 8, 2026
Children, he said, including some who may be harboring antisemitic prejudice, needed a way to relate to the event before they could grasp its singular nature.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 8, 2026
Jenny Hopkins of the Crown Prosecution Service stressed that there "should be no reporting, commentary or sharing of information online which could in any way prejudice these proceedings".
From BBC ● Jun. 26, 2026
Hatcher — a Pomo shape-shifter who dodges prejudice by passing as Mexican in the novel — is a thorny protagonist, often cunning, scheming and unforgiving.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 24, 2026
We have powerful defense mechanisms—personal prejudice, shame, societal messages, and, yes, technology.
From "A Deadly Wandering: A Mystery, a Landmark Investigation, and the Astonishing Science of Attention in the Digital Age" by Matt Richtel
All teams are defined, to some measure, on the preferences and prejudices of their managers.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 12, 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
People like John Lithgow, who plays Dumbledore, insist that Rowling’s Wizarding World is open to all, regardless of the creator’s prejudices.
From Salon ● May 14, 2026
But if we look deeply into the weapons, we see our own minds — our prejudices, fears and ignorance.
From Salon ● Feb. 13, 2026
Not just with objective wonder at the rising of a truth, fragmentary or not, up through what often seemed to be an impenetrable mass of prejudices, clichés, and bromides.
From "Franny and Zooey" by J. D. Salinger
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
“We’re all prejudiced against one thing or another,” Deen continues.
From Salon ● Sep. 18, 2025
Mr Patel said he did not know where the money was and did not want to discuss what happened, in case it prejudiced any future court case against Vashi.
From BBC ● Sep. 1, 2025
We will be accused of being prejudiced, and the whole thing will flop.
From "A Confederacy of Dunces" by John Kennedy Toole
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
More documents are due to be published in the future but the Metropolitan Police has asked for some to be held back to avoid prejudicing the ongoing criminal investigation into Lord Mandelson.
From BBC ● Mar. 11, 2026
The Agency has previously declined to give the exact locations of the biggest sites to avoid prejudicing ongoing investigations.
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
The shrewd attorney hired by the four committeemen knew very well that he was not prejudicing his clients' case when he advised them to quash the warrant.
From How Janice Day Won by Long, Helen Beecher
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.
