unfair
Americanadjective
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not fair; not conforming to approved standards, as of justice, honesty, or ethics.
an unfair law;
an unfair wage policy.
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disproportionate; undue; beyond what is proper or fitting.
an unfair share.
adjective
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characterized by inequality or injustice
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dishonest or unethical
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of unfair
First recorded before 900; 1705–15 unfair for def. 1; Middle English: “uncomely, ugly”; Old English unfæger; cognate with Old Norse ūfagr; un- 1 + fair 1
Explanation
If something's unfair, it's not just or equitable. If your brother carelessly broke your mother's favorite vase, it would be unfair for her to punish both of you. We all know that when things are fair, they're unbiased or they follow the rules. Unfair is the exact opposite, so an unfair ruling in court isn't based on principles of justice, and an unfair grade on your book report might be due to your English teacher's bias against graphic novels. The original meaning of this adjective was "not lovely" or "hideous," from the "beautiful" definition of fair.
Vocabulary lists containing unfair
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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.
When it came to privacy, Mathew found, “Facebook was aware that its users did not understand its privacy settings and took advantage of that to a grossly unfair degree.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 23, 2026
The jury found Meta liable last month for violating New Mexico’s unfair practices law.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 21, 2026
As the government's Intellectual Property Office puts it, "a main driver of illegal content access is the perception of unfair or high pricing for legal services".
From BBC ● Oct. 18, 2026
To help remedy unfair disparity between sentences, Congress created the U.S.
From Slate ● Oct. 18, 2026
“Because Josie and me, we got to hear your answers first, and know what not to say. And besides, my parents told me why there are whatnots. So I have an unfair advantage.”
From "The School for Whatnots" by Margaret Peterson Haddix
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Get a wordDefinitions 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.
