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

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

Example 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

So the first one is to be aware of your own anthropomorphic cognitive biases. — Quanta Magazine, 20 Aug. 2026 Buckingham brought up the topic of confirmatory bias on cross-examination, and showed a video of Reddington and Zeizel at a news conference, attempting to show their close relationship. — Matt Schooley, CBS News, 19 Aug. 2026

Verb

Attorney General Catherine Hanaway, a Republican, sued Kansas City last month, alleging its contracting system was biased against men and white people. — Jack Harvel, Kansas City Star, 17 Aug. 2026 Text watermarks work by biasing the model’s word choices in a pattern spread across the entire document, only detectable in aggregate by the right tool. — Ashley Belanger, ArsTechnica, 13 Aug. 2026 See All Example Sentences for bias

Recent Examples of Synonyms for bias

Noun

Asking about being alone with a Haitian, for instance, prompted a quick lecture on resisting the forces of prejudice.

— Victor Tangermann, Futurism, 20 Aug. 2026
An entire section dedicated to American prejudice included anti-Japanese signage and a Ku Klux Klan hood.

— Julian Lucas, New Yorker, 20 Aug. 2026

Definition of prejudice

Noun

Emery knows that his side are robust when battling adversity yet need to find a way to rectify blind spots in their game, such as the tendency to drift through certain matches and against specific tactical challenges.

— Jacob Tanswell, New York Times, 19 Aug. 2026
Catholics have frequently exemplified the best and worst tendencies of American society.

— Gustavo Arellano, Los Angeles Times, 19 Aug. 2026

Definition of tendency

Verb

One of my non-negotiable recommendations is Tonnara di Scopello, another historic tuna fishery turned into a tiny museum and protected cove.

— Megan Rose Murray, Condé Nast Traveler, 22 Aug. 2026
Her biweekly nostalgia program has turned into a daily online recap of the Keffe D trial.

— Andy Rose, CNN Money, 22 Aug. 2026

Definition of turn

Noun

That’s not partiality or wish casting on the part of your friendly political columnist.

— Los Angeles Times, Los Angeles Times, 20 Aug. 2026
For instance, traditional print outlets value such tenets as balance, impartiality, gatekeeping, and prepublication verification, whereas digital products often emphasize immediacy, transparency, partiality, and postpublication correction.

— Encyclopedia Britannica, Encyclopedia Britannica, 28 May 2026

Definition of partiality

Noun

To prevail, Benitez-Thompson would have to defy political gravity, which is to say overcome the reflexive partisanship that has typified politics in this age of deep voter polarization.

— Los Angeles Times, Los Angeles Times, 23 Aug. 2026
Policymakers in Washington should look to Florida for a lesson in putting partisanship aside to protect people and lower costs.

— Jaclyn de Medicci Bruneau, Sun Sentinel, 9 Aug. 2026

Definition of partisanship

Noun

Arm moves into mainframes Arm processors have become widely used across cloud infrastructure, mobile devices and increasingly AI computing.

— Neetika Walter, Interesting Engineering, 25 Aug. 2026
Philadelphia School District officials told CBS News Philadelphia that schools are responsible for determining how students' devices will be secured during the school day.

— Wakisha Bailey, CBS News, 24 Aug. 2026

Definition of devices

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“Bias.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/bias. Accessed 28 Aug. 2026.

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Synonyms of bias

noun

adverb

verb

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