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:
For years, campuses taught students to recognize prejudice and the dangers of stereotyping minorities.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 17, 2026
And it announced plans to recognise misogyny as a "distinct form of prejudice and abuse", alongside a public health campaign to target toxic male behaviour.
From BBC ● Sep. 15, 2026
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
Molly was a wonderful woman, generous and unselfish, utterly without prejudice.
From "Long Walk to Freedom" by Nelson Mandela
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
More broadly the play is a tart vivisection of human pettiness and venality, as one by one the characters’ prejudices, peccadilloes and blinkered views are exposed.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 23, 2026
It shows the city “in all its diversity, prejudices, contradictions, inequities and generosities.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Feb. 13, 2026
Maybe, in training for that profession in those years before the First World War, he saw ahead of him prejudices he refused to swallow, humiliations he refused to bear.
From "Farewell to Manzanar" by Jeanne Houston
It’s possible more and more voters see through the prejudiced subterfuge, but it’s more likely that folks simply need a change.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 3, 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
In court documents reviewed by the New York Times, the defense has accused Halligan of “irregularities so severe and pervasivevthat they likely prejudiced the grand jurors’ narrow decision to indict.”
From Salon ● Nov. 6, 2025
In his appeal, Hernandez argued that that the jury had received improper instructions that violated US Supreme Court precedent and prejudiced his verdict.
From BBC ● Jul. 21, 2025
Not that he was prejudiced or anything, but he just wanted to know.
From "The Catcher in the Rye" by J. D. Salinger
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
In English law, posts on social media can be deemed capable of prejudicing a jury - and therefore influencing the outcome of a trial.
From BBC ● Sep. 3, 2025
“Plaintiffs’ concealment of their identities is prejudicing the Robinsons’ defense,” the motion alleges.
From Los Angeles Times ● May 29, 2025
But he said it was never suggested that this was due to their concerns about possibly prejudicing any pending criminal trials.
From BBC ● Feb. 25, 2025
Suppose he should be false?--suppose the dread of prejudicing himself should be stronger than his integrity?
From A Twofold Life by Wilhelmine von Hillern
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.
