unconscious bias
Americannoun
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deep, general patterns and shortcuts of cognitive processing that a person is unaware of and that underlie implicit bias.
Etymology
Origin of unconscious bias
First recorded in 1780–90
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.
Some hiring managers may have unconscious bias and may even be younger than you.
From MarketWatch • Jan. 28, 2026
The officer confirmed she had completed equality training, including on unconscious bias and discriminatory stereotypes, and said she was aware of stereotypes relating to black people.
From BBC • Jun. 12, 2025
Websites for Meta’s unconscious bias training and TechPrep, a resource hub for underrepresented people and their parents to learn about computer science, are no longer online.
From Los Angeles Times • Feb. 15, 2025
Like the previous study, it used a technique to hide the result from the scientists until the end, mitigating any unconscious bias.
From Science Daily • Nov. 20, 2024
This is quite clearly the kind of unconscious bias that the IAT picks up on.
From "Blink" by Malcolm Gladwell
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.
