Prejudice Definition & Meaning - Merriam-Webster

Kids Definition of prejudice · 1 : a liking or dislike for one rather than another especially without good reason She has a prejudice against department stores. Login SignUp Hello, Games&Quizzes Thesaurus WordoftheDay Features BuyingGuide M-WBooks JoinMWU MyWordsMyWords ViewRecents Account LogOut prejudice noun SaveWord prej·​u·​dice |\ˈpre-jə-dəs \ Definitionofprejudice (Entry1of2) 1 :injuryordamageresultingfromsomejudgmentoractionofanotherindisregardofone'srights especially :detrimenttoone'slegalrightsorclaims 2a(1) :preconceivedjudgmentoropinion (2) :anadverseopinionorleaningformedwithoutjustgroundsorbeforesufficientknowledge b :aninstanceofsuchjudgmentoropinion c :anirrationalattitudeofhostilitydirectedagainstanindividual,agroup,arace,ortheirsupposedcharacteristics prejudice verb prejudiced;prejudicing Definitionofprejudice (Entry2of2) transitiveverb 1 :toinjureordamagebysomejudgmentoraction(asinacaseoflaw) 2 :tocausetohaveprejudice Synonyms&Antonyms ChoosetheRightSynonym Prejudice:FororAgainst? ExampleSentences LearnMoreAboutprejudice Synonyms&Antonymsforprejudice Synonyms:Noun bias,favor,nonobjectivity,one-sidedness,partipris,partiality,partisanship,ply,tendentiousnessSynonyms:Verb bias,poison,turn Antonyms:Noun impartiality,neutrality,objectivity,open-mindedness,unbiasedness VisittheThesaurusforMore  ChoosetheRightSynonymforprejudice Noun predilection,prepossession,prejudice,biasmeananattitudeofmindthatpredisposesonetofavorsomething.predilectionimpliesastronglikingderivingfromone'stemperamentorexperience. apredilectionfortravel prepossessionsuggestsafixedconceptionlikelytoprecludeobjectivejudgmentofanythingcountertoit. aprepossessionagainsttechnology prejudiceusuallyimpliesanunfavorableprepossessionandconnotesafeelingrootedinsuspicion,fear,orintolerance. amindlessprejudiceagainsttheunfamiliar biasimpliesanunreasonedandunfairdistortionofjudgmentinfavoroforagainstapersonorthing. astrongbiastowardtheplaintiff Prejudice:FororAgainst? Althoughprejudice,withitsconnotationsofintolerance,impliesanegativebias,thewordcanbeusedinpositiveconstructions: I,too,appreciateprojectsthattreatadifficultsubjectwithrigor,althoughI'llconfesstoharboringabitofprejudicetowardthing-biographies. AdamBaer,Harper's,May2011 That'struefortheparticipialadjectiveprejudicedaswell: “Thequestionitselfasposedinthesurveyobviouslyisprejudicedinfavoroftheprogram,”saidTodStory,executivedirectoroftheAmericanCivilLibertiesUnionofNevada. NealMorton,LasVegasReviewJournal,2Aug.2016 Innegativeconstructions,prejudiceandprejudicedoftenprecedeagainst: LeeCountyCircuitJudgeJacobWalkeronTuesdayruledthatclaimsofjurormisconductbyformerHouseSpeakerMikeHubbardfailedtoshowthatthejurywasprejudicedagainstHubbard. MikeCason,AL.com,19Oct.2016 ExamplesofprejudiceinaSentence Noun ButtodaymostblackAmericansnothamperedbypovertyorprejudicetakeforgrantedtheirrighttostudyItalian,listentoBritneySpearsoropera,playintheNHL,eatThaifood,liveanywhere,workanywhere,playanywhere,readandthinkandsayanything. —StephanTalty,MulattoAmerica,2003 ItiseasytosupposeatthislatedatethatthereisbarelyanyovertracismleftintheUnitedStates, …Kennedy'scatalogofmundanecasesofexplicitanti-blackprejudiceprovidesampleillustrationofwhatlurksbeneaththesurfacepolitenessofmanywhites. —JohnMcWhorter,NewRepublic,14Jan.2002 Theboundariesbetweenhateandprejudiceandbetweenprejudiceandopinionandbetweenopinionandtrutharesocomplicatedandblurredthatanyattempttoconstructlegalandpoliticalfirewallsisadoomedandilliberalventure. —AndrewSullivan,NewYorkTimesMagazine,26Sept.1999 Whenmymother,who,unlikemyfather,wasJewish,encounteredunpleasantsocialprejudiceduringmyhigh-schoolyears,Iacquiredasecondmarginalidentity. —CarlE.Schorske,ThinkingwithHistory,1998 Theorganizationfightsagainstracialprejudice. religious,racial,andsexualprejudices Wetendtomakethesekindsofdecisionsaccordingtoourownprejudices. Hehasaprejudiceagainstfast-foodrestaurants. Verb PaulRevere…engravedthedrawingandprintedhundredsofvividlycoloredcopies,whichtraveledthroughoutthecolonies.WellmightonejudgeatCaptainPreston'strialcomplainthat"therehasbeenagreatdealdonetoprejudicethePeopleagainstthePrisoner." —HillerB.Zobel,AmericanHeritage,July/August1995 Myfriendswouldhavehadmedelaymydeparture,butfearfulofprejudicingmyemployersagainstmebysuchwantofpunctualityatthecommencementofmyundertaking,Ipersistedinkeepingtheappointment. —AnneBrontë,AgnesGrey,1847 allthebadstoriesIhadheardabouttheincomingCEOprejudicedmeagainsthimevenbeforethefirstmeeting SeeMore RecentExamplesontheWeb:Noun Thecompanyevenfiledamotionforthecourttodismissthelawsuitwithprejudice. — MorayoOgunbayo,ajc,15July2022 What’smore,inDecember,thecompany’slawyersfiledamotionaskingU.S.DistrictCourtJudgeJonS.Tigartodismissthesuitwithprejudice. — TimCarman,WashingtonPost,12July2022 ThecasewasdismissedwithprejudicemeansWalterscannotsueMansonagainforthesameclaims. — DanielKohn,SPIN,26May2022 Thejudgedismissedthecasewithprejudice,prohibitingplaintiffAshleyWaltersfromrefilingthecharges. — RaniaAniftos,Billboard,25May2022 Pughfulfilledtherequirementsofthecounty’spre-trialdiversionprogram,andthechargeswerelaterdismissedwithprejudice,accordingtocourtdocuments. — WilliamThornton|[email protected],al,25May2022 The2020arsoncase,whichinvolvedRogers,accordingtoFOX6,wasdismissedwithprejudiceafterMatzen'sattorneyarguedthatthestatehaddelayedtrialproceedingsfortoolong. — FoxNews,14May2022 Onthedateofthetrial,MilwaukeeCountyCircuitCourtJudgeMichelleA.Havasgrantedthedefense’srequesttodismissthechargeswithprejudice,meaningprosecutorscouldnotretrythecase. — ElliotHughes,MilwaukeeJournalSentinel,11May2022 Thehopeisthatraisingawarenessabouttheseissuescanreduceprejudiceanddrivelong-lastingbehavioralchange. — EsadeBusiness&LawSchool,Forbes,1July2022 RecentExamplesontheWeb:Verb Marylandrulesforattorneyconductlimitwhatlawyersareallowedtosayaboutacaseinpublic,barringthemfrommakingstatementsthatcouldprejudiceajudgeorjury. — AlexMann,BaltimoreSun,16June2022 Thetrialjudgeruledthattheessaywouldnotbepermittedasevidencebecauseitwaswrittenyearsagoaspartofawritingseminarandcouldunfairlyprejudicethejury. — RajaRazekAndFaithKarimi,CNN,13June2022 Thetrialjudgeruledthattheessaywouldnotbepermittedasevidencebecauseitwaswrittenyearsagoaspartofawritingseminarandcouldunfairlyprejudicethejury. — RajaRazekAndFaithKarimi,CNN,13June2022 ReferencestoShoffner’spriorconvictionweresupposedtohavebeenredactedfromthevideosoasnottoprejudicethejury,butbecauseofanapparentmix-uptheoriginal,unredactedrecordingwasplayedincourt. — al,9June2022 Prosecutorsbroughttherequestforagagorder,accusingthedefenseofcreatingaone-sidepublicdiscoursethatwouldprejudicethecityandpotentialjurorsagainsttheprosecution. — AlexMann,BaltimoreSun,7June2022 Thetrialjudgeruledthattheessaywouldnotbepermittedasevidencebecauseitwaswrittenyearsagoaspartofawritingseminarandcouldunfairlyprejudicethejury. — FaithKarimi,CNN,26May2022 Therefore,Musk'scontinuingpublicstatementsabouttheseissuesonlyservetoprejudicethejurypoolinthiscasebypotentiallyinfluencingtheirdeliberationsduringtrial. — JonBrodkin,ArsTechnica,18Apr.2022 ButthetrialjudgeruledMondaythattheessaywouldnotbepermittedasevidencebecauseitwaswrittenyearsagoaspartofawritingseminarandcouldunfairlyprejudicethejury. — FaithKarimi,CNN,7Apr.2022 SeeMore Theseexamplesentencesareselectedautomaticallyfromvariousonlinenewssourcestoreflectcurrentusageoftheword'prejudice.'ViewsexpressedintheexamplesdonotrepresenttheopinionofMerriam-Websteroritseditors.Sendusfeedback. FirstKnownUseofprejudice Noun 13thcentury,inthemeaningdefinedatsense1Verb 15thcentury,inthemeaningdefinedatsense1 HistoryandEtymologyforprejudice NounandVerb MiddleEnglish,fromAnglo-French,fromLatinpraejudiciumpreviousjudgment,damage,fromprae-+judiciumjudgment—moreatjudicial LearnMoreAboutprejudice Shareprejudice PosttheDefinitionofprejudicetoFacebook SharetheDefinitionofprejudiceonTwitter TimeTravelerforprejudice Thefirstknownuseofprejudicewas inthe13thcentury Seemorewordsfromthesamecentury FromtheEditorsatMerriam-Webster TheDifferencebetween'Race'and... TheDifferencebetween'Race'and'Ethnicity' Howtheydifferandoverlap TheGood,TheBad,&The... TheGood,TheBad,&TheSemanticallyImprecise-11/15/19 SomeofthewordsthatdefinedtheweekofNovember15,2019 DictionaryEntriesNearprejudice prejudicative prejudice prejudiced SeeMoreNearbyEntries  Statisticsforprejudice LastUpdated 17Jul2022 Look-upPopularity CitethisEntry “Prejudice.”Merriam-Webster.comDictionary,Merriam-Webster,https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/prejudice.Accessed28Jul.2022. Style:MLA MLA Chicago APA Merriam-Webster MoreDefinitionsforprejudice prejudice noun prej·​u·​dice |\ˈpre-jə-dəs \ KidsDefinitionofprejudice (Entry1of2) 1 :alikingordislikeforoneratherthananotherespeciallywithoutgoodreason Shehasaprejudiceagainstdepartmentstores. 2 :afeelingofunfairdislikedirectedagainstanindividualoragroupbecauseofsomecharacteristic(asraceorreligion) 3 :injuryordamagetoaperson'srights prejudice verb prejudiced;prejudicing KidsDefinitionofprejudice (Entry2of2) 1 :tocausetohaveanunfairdislikeof Theincidentprejudicedthemagainstthecompany. 2 :tocausedamageto(asaperson'srights) Newspaperstoriesprejudicedtheupcomingtrial. prejudice noun prej·​u·​dice |\ˈpre-jə-dəs \ Legal Definitionofprejudice (Entry1of2) 1 :injuryordetrimenttoone'slegalrightsorclaims(asfromtheactionofanother):as a :substantialimpairmentofadefendant'sabilitytodefend thecourtfoundnoprejudicetothedefendantbythelengthydelayinbringingcharges b :tendencyforadecisiononanimproperbasis(aspastconduct)byatrieroffact whetheranexpartecommunicationtoadeliberatingjuryresultedinanyreasonablepossibilityofprejudicetothedefendant—NationalLawJournal c :impliedwaiverofrightsandprivilegesnotexplicitlyretained DistrictCourterredinattachingprejudicetoprisoner'scomplaintforinjunctiverelief—NationalLawJournal 2 :afinalandbindingdecision(asanadjudicationonthemerits)thatbarsfurtherprosecutionofthesamecauseofactionormotion dismissesthiscasewithprejudicethedismissalwaswithoutprejudice 3a :anirrationalattitudeofhostilitydirectedagainstanindividual,agroup,arace,ortheirsupposedcharacteristics theConstitutiondoesnotprohibitlawsbasedonprejudiceperse—R.H.Bork b :anattitudeordisposition(asofajudge)thatpreventsimpartiality thatthejudgebeforewhomthematterispendinghasapersonalbiasorprejudice…againsthim—U.S.Code prejudice transitiveverb prejudiced;prejudicing Legal Definitionofprejudice (Entry2of2) 1 :toinjureordamagetherightsofbysomelegalactionorprejudice ifthejoinderofoffensesordefendants…appearstoprejudiceadefendantorthegovernment—FederalRulesofCriminalProcedureRule14 2 :toinjureordamage(rights)bysomelegalactionorprejudice thatthedenialprejudicedhisrighttoafairtrialthisclausedoesnotprejudiceotherrights HistoryandEtymologyforprejudice Noun OldFrench,fromLatinpraejudiciumpreviousjudgment,damage,fromprae-before+judiciumjudgment MorefromMerriam-Websteronprejudice Nglish:TranslationofprejudiceforSpanishSpeakers BritannicaEnglish:TranslationofprejudiceforArabicSpeakers Britannica.com:Encyclopediaarticleaboutprejudice WORDOFTHEDAY ostentatious SeeDefinitionsandExamples» GetWordoftheDaydailyemail! 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