biased

The word “biased” means unfairly favoring one side; showing prejudice. In plain terms, leaning unfairly toward one side, whether in opinion or in the odds of an outcome.

“Biased” is pronounced BEYE-uhst (/ˈbaɪəst/ in IPA).

Here is “biased” used in a sentence: “The article was clearly biased against the new policy.”

“Biased” is an adjective.

“Biased” is an uncommon word in modern English.

“Biased” has 2 distinct senses listed in this dictionary. The most common is: unfairly favoring one side; showing prejudice.

Biased specifically means favoring one side due to prejudice or a fixed leaning, while unfair is a broader term for any situation that lacks justice or equal treatment, regardless of cause. A decision can be unfair without being biased if it results from an honest mistake rather than favoritism.

In everyday speech, biased describes a person or opinion that unfairly favors one side, such as a biased judge. In statistics and computing, biased describes data or a system that is weighted so some outcomes are more likely than others, as with a biased coin or biased sample.

Yes, bias can occur unintentionally, such as when a survey or algorithm is biased because of how it was designed, even if no one meant to favor a particular outcome. This is common in the statistical sense of the word, where weighting rather than intent creates the bias.