BIAS Synonyms: 124 Similar and Opposite Words

Q: How does the noun 'bias' contrast with its synonyms?

Some common synonyms of bias are predilection , prejudice , and prepossession . While all these words mean "an attitude of mind that predisposes one to favor something," bias implies an unreasoned and unfair distortion of judgment in favor of or against a person or thing. // a strong bias toward the plaintiff

Q: Where would 'predilection' be a reasonable alternative to 'bias'?

While in some cases nearly identical to bias , predilection implies a strong liking deriving from one's temperament or experience. // a predilection for travel

Q: When can 'prejudice' be used instead of 'bias'?

The synonyms prejudice and bias are sometimes interchangeable, but prejudice usually implies an unfavorable prepossession and connotes a feeling rooted in suspicion, fear, or intolerance. // a mindless prejudice against the unfamiliar

Q: When is it sensible to use 'prepossession' instead of 'bias'?

While the synonyms prepossession and bias are close in meaning, prepossession suggests a fixed conception likely to preclude objective judgment of anything counter to it. // a prepossession against technology

bias 1 of 3

noun

ˈbī-əs

Definition of bias next

as in prejudice

an attitude that always favors one way of feeling or acting especially without considering any other possibilities he has a powerful bias towards sentimentality, which comes through even in his grittier stories

Synonyms & Similar Words

Relevance

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

as in tendency

a habitual attraction to some activity or thing from her youth she revealed a strong bias toward a life of the mind

Synonyms & Similar Words

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

bias

2 of 3

adverb

as in diagonally

in a line or direction running from corner to corner made of fabric cut bias

Synonyms & Similar Words

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

bias

3 of 3

verb

as in to turn

to cause to have often negative opinions formed without sufficient knowledge bad reviews biased her against the movie, even though it starred one of her favorite actors

Synonyms & Similar Words

Synonym Chooser

How does the noun bias contrast with its synonyms?

Some common synonyms of bias are predilection, prejudice, and prepossession. While all these words mean "an attitude of mind that predisposes one to favor something," bias implies an unreasoned and unfair distortion of judgment in favor of or against a person or thing.

a strong bias toward the plaintiff

Where would predilection be a reasonable alternative to bias?

While in some cases nearly identical to bias, predilection implies a strong liking deriving from one's temperament or experience.

a predilection for travel

When can prejudice be used instead of bias?

The synonyms prejudice and bias are sometimes interchangeable, but prejudice usually implies an unfavorable prepossession and connotes a feeling rooted in suspicion, fear, or intolerance.

a mindless prejudice against the unfamiliar

When is it sensible to use prepossession instead of bias?

While the synonyms prepossession and bias are close in meaning, prepossession suggests a fixed conception likely to preclude objective judgment of anything counter to it.

a prepossession against technology

Examples Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Recent Examples of bias

Noun

As president of the BSC, Chris Ross said the guild has added initiatives to reduce unconscious bias and remove barriers that lead to lack of representation. —

Daniel Eagan, IndieWire, 19 Nov. 2024 Beyond that, many labs are connected to law enforcement agencies, which experts say leads to bias and pressure to churn out results that solve cases quickly rather than follow national standards federal researchers have developed. —

N'dea Yancey-Bragg, USA TODAY, 18 Nov. 2024

Verb

Conspiracy theories that the government engineered the hurricane to bias the election and that personal property would be seized if Federal Emergency Management Agency funds aren’t paid back – both false – have taken hold. —

Patrik Jonsson, The Christian Science Monitor, 11 Oct. 2024 Start by acknowledging and confronting your own unconscious biases, as these can easily seep into the datasets during data collection and labeling, thereby biasing the AI’s learning process itself. —

Prajeet Gadekar, Forbes, 3 Oct. 2024 See all Example Sentences for bias

Recent Examples of Synonyms for bias

Noun

The company settled a legal proceeding with CAKE Software, Inc., resulting in the discontinuation of the action with prejudice.

Quartz Bot, Quartz, 15 Nov. 2024
Even before his passing, in 2020, a report in Forbes.com outlined how Dr. Zimbardo extended his research to study heroism and overcoming the ‘bystander effect’ and prejudice.

Eric Wood, Forbes, 1 Nov. 2024

Definition of prejudice

Cite this Entry

Style

“Bias.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/bias. Accessed 28 Nov. 2024.

Copy Citation

Last Updated: 27 Nov 2024 - Updated example sentences

Play Quordle: Guess all four words in a limited number of tries. Each of your guesses must be a real 5-letter word.

Can you solve 4 words at once?

Word of the Day

victuals

See Definitions and Examples »

Get Word of the Day daily email!

Synonyms of bias

noun

adverb

verb

Synonym Chooser

Examples Sentences

Thesaurus Entries Near bias

Cite this Entry