prejudice

/ˈprɛdʒədəs/

/ˈprɛdʒədɪs/

Other forms: prejudices; prejudiced; prejudicing

If you have a negative attitude towards someone based on race or ethnicity rather than personal experience, you might be accused of prejudice.

Prejudice is remarkably similar to its Latin root in form and meaning; the Latin praejudicium means "judgment in advance." A racial prejudice is a negative attitude towards a group of people based on race — not on direct knowledge or experience. If you prejudice someone, you cause them to have a negative attitude towards someone else. Lawyers are not allowed to bring certain types of evidence such as rumors into a trial because it might prejudice the jury.

Definitions of prejudice

1. noun

   a partiality that prevents objective consideration of an issue or situation
   synonyms: bias, preconception

   types:

   taboo, tabu

   a prejudice (especially in Polynesia and other South Pacific islands) that prohibits the use or mention of something because of its sacred nature

   irrational hostility

   extreme prejudice

   experimenter bias

   (psychology) bias introduced by an experimenter whose expectations about the outcome of the experiment can be subtly communicated to the participants in the experiment

   homophobia

   prejudice against (fear or dislike of) homosexual people and homosexuality

   Islamophobia

   prejudice against Muslims

   racism

   the prejudice that members of one race are intrinsically superior to members of other races

   tendentiousness

   an intentional and controversial bias

   anti-Semitism, antisemitism

   the intense dislike for and prejudice against Jewish people

   white supremacy

   the prejudice that members of the white race are superior to members of other races

   type of:

   partiality, partisanship

   an inclination to favor one group or view or opinion over alternatives
2. verb

   influence (somebody's) opinion in advance
   synonyms: prepossess

   types:

   bias, predetermine

   cause to be biased

   bias

   influence in an unfair way

   angle, skew, slant, weight

   present with a bias

   handicap

   attempt to forecast the winner (especially in a horse race) and assign odds for or against a contestant

   type of:

   act upon, influence, work

   have and exert influence or effect
3. verb

   disadvantage by prejudice
   type of:

   disadvantage, disfavor, disfavour

   put at a disadvantage; hinder, harm