prejudice

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.

The first records of the word prejudice come from the second half of the 1200s. It comes from the Latin praejūdicium, a term that means “prejudgement” and was originally used in the context of law. The prefix pre- means “before,” and the second part of the word derives from the Latin jūdex, which means “judge” and is the basis of many law-related words, such as judicial.

When you hold a prejudice against someone, you prejudge them—you make up your mind about what they’re like before you even know them. Some people who hold a prejudice against a group have never even met a member of that group. In this way, prejudice is often a failure to treat people as individuals. Though prejudice is often a personal belief, the prevalence of such beliefs can and does form the basis of systemic oppression.

Prejudice is often the reason that certain groups are marginalized (treated as inferior and less important and pushed to the edges of society) and discriminated against. Different forms of prejudice often have specific names, such racism, colorism, misogyny, anti-Semitism, Islamophobia, homophobia, transphobia, ableism, and ageism.

Despite its association with such forms of intolerance, the word prejudice is also commonly used in a more general way, as in I didn’t expect the movie to be that good—I guess I just have a prejudice against romantic comedies. A notable use of the word prejudice in literature is in the title of the Jane Austen novel Pride and Prejudice.

What are some other forms related to prejudice?

• prejudiced (adjective)
• prejudicial (adjective)

What are some synonyms for prejudice?

• preconception
• bias
• discrimination
• bigotry
• intolerance

What are some words that share a root or word element with prejudice? 

• prejudge
• judge
• judicial
• judiciary

What are some words that often get used in discussing prejudice?

• racism
• racial
• sexism
• misogyny
• anti-Semitism
• Islamophobia
• homophobia
• transphobia
• ableism
• ageism
• pride

Prejudice is most often used in a serious way to refer to hatred of certain types of people.

I'm seeing that we need to have a talk about racism.

Racism is not just prejudice.

Racism = Racial prejudice + social and institutional power.

🧵

— Dr. Juliette McClendon (@DrJulietteM) July 7, 2020

Thank you, @jemelehill, for writing this poignant and important piece about how experiencing one type of prejudice doesn't automatically sensitize people to other forms of bigotry.https://t.co/DWmlgqAWxE

— American Jewish Committee (@AJCGlobal) July 13, 2020

“Trans people were promised change, but instead they face deepening prejudice”https://t.co/xi1EGux9Wg

— Trans Actual (@TransActualUK) July 1, 2020

Which of the following words is NOT a synonym for prejudice?

A. bigotry
B. intolerance
C. bias
D. acceptance