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

These types of harms could include defamation, bias, deceit and social engineering and much more. — Anat Lior, The Conversation, 21 Oct. 2026 The Lula campaign alleges bias in favor of its rival under a chief electoral justice who was appointed by the elder Bolsonaro, and accuses Meta’s algorithms and AI chatbot of hindering Lula’s social media presence during the presidential campaign. — Constance Malleret, Christian Science Monitor, 20 Oct. 2026

Verb

Four days before she was named special prosecutor, James posted a message on social media critics said was biased in favor of Doe. — Kara Scannell, CNN Money, 6 Oct. 2026 The polling failure will serve to give further ammunition to the Brazilian right and the Bolsonaro camp, which have long alleged that the nation's leading pollsters turn in work biased in favor of Lula and his Workers Party. — David Unsworth, FOXNews.com, 5 Oct. 2026 See All Example Sentences for bias

Recent Examples of Synonyms for bias

Noun

The permit application from J7 Ready Mix was denied with prejudice during a hearing in Austin.

— Elizabeth Campbell, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 22 Oct. 2026
All the prejudices my characters are designed to expose haven’t just lingered—they’ve metastasized.

— Lars Brandle, Billboard, 21 Oct. 2026

Definition of prejudice

Noun

Research has also found that across generational groups, greater user tendency to engage in social comparison, together with greater maladaptive ways of coping with emotions, is associated with more symptoms of anger, anxiety, and depression.

— Ashwini Nadkarni, Time, 24 Oct. 2026
Good and bad tendencies overlap and swirl — the Gators, a new property every week.

— Noah White, Miami Herald, 23 Oct. 2026

Definition of tendency

Adverb

In van Gogh’s painting, the moon is positioned in the top right corner, diagonally above Venus, which is center left, with other stars positioned left of the moon.

— Amarachi Orie, CNN Money, 24 Oct. 2026
Trim the crust from the brioche slices and cut them diagonally into 2 triangles.

— Candy Hom, AJC.com, 24 Oct. 2026

Definition of diagonally

Verb

But one item that is broken out in the report is $100 million, for turning tracks that would allow trains to be turned at the airport.

— The Editorial Board, Chicago Tribune, 28 Oct. 2026
The Metropolitan Transportation Authority says its Evasion and Graffiti Lawlessness Eradication (EAGLE) Teams aren't going away despite two recent confrontations between fare inspectors and bus riders that turned physical.

— Elijah Westbrook, CBS News, 28 Oct. 2026

Definition of turn

Noun

Meta insisted its recent operational incidents come from technical limitations rather than any partiality.

— ABC News, ABC News, 20 Oct. 2026
Stanton’s confession ends up being incomprehensible to anyone but himself—an irony that McCarthy, with his partiality for secret codes, seems to take great pleasure in.

— Max Callimanopulos, New Yorker, 14 Oct. 2026

Definition of partiality

Noun

At Roberto Cavalli, makeup artist Yadim had the same inclination for highly pigmented metallic shades, a choice that punctuated key looks also at Jil Sander.

— Sandra Salibian, Footwear News, 9 Oct. 2026
OpenAI’s closest rival, Anthropic, has shown no inclination to delay its own IPO, which is expected sometime before year’s end.

— Alyson Shontell, Fortune, 5 Oct. 2026

Definition of inclination

Noun

Coalition governments are not uncommon in the state, where politicians are fond of saying that pragmatism trumps partisanship.

— Zach Helfand, New Yorker, 23 Oct. 2026
Most networks and major news organizations have social media policies that frown on overt partisanship.

— Ted Johnson, Deadline, 19 Oct. 2026

Definition of partisanship

Noun

For the tinkering types, Meta also released open weights for Muse’s code to help people connect it to a range of other devices.

— Marty Swant, Washington Post, 27 Oct. 2026
Chinese clinical tools, medical devices, and enabling technologies are likely to become increasingly central, as well.

— Ruby Wang, semafor.com, 27 Oct. 2026

Definition of devices

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“Bias.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/bias. Accessed 29 Oct. 2026.

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Synonyms of bias

noun

adverb

verb

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Phrases Containing bias

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