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bias

BY-us /ˈbaɪəs/

nounverbB2GRESATTOEFLIELTS

formalgeneral

A prejudice in favor of or against one thing, person, or group compared with another, usually in a way considered to be unfair.

Can be conscious or unconscious; often leads to unfair treatment or skewed outcomes.

The story behind the word. The word 'bias' entered English from Old French 'biais,' meaning 'slant, slope, oblique.' It originally referred to a diagonal line, particularly in the game of bowls, where a ball with a 'bias' would curve. This physical sense of leaning or inclining eventually evolved into the metaphorical sense of a mental inclination or prejudice, usually an unfair one.

Word relationships

prejudice: A preconceived opinion not based on reason or actual experience, often negative.
partiality: A strong liking for something or someone, often leading to unfair treatment of others.
favoritism: The practice of giving unfair preferential treatment to one person or group.

impartiality: Fairness and objectivity, without prejudice.
objectivity: The quality of being unbiased and factual.

Commonly confused with

preference: A preference is a simple liking for one thing over another, while bias implies an unfair or prejudiced inclination.

Word family

biased (adjective): having or showing an unfair tendency to believe that some people, ideas, etc., are better than others.
unbiased (adjective): showing no prejudice for or against something; impartial.

Collocations

unconscious bias
inherent bias
confirmation bias
gender bias
racial bias
systemic bias
to bias a study

Idioms & expressions

to bias the jury

Example sentences

"Journalists must strive to report the news without bias, presenting all sides of a story fairly." Discussing journalistic ethics.
"The facial recognition software showed a clear bias against darker skin tones, leading to inaccurate identifications." In the context of AI.
"To avoid bias in hiring, the company implemented blind resume reviews, removing names and other identifying information." A hiring process.

Memory hook

A 'BIAS' makes you 'BY-us' (by us) and not by them, showing an unfair preference. Slanted view.

When not to use

Avoid using 'bias' to mean simply 'preference' if no unfairness or prejudice is implied. For example, 'I have a bias towards chocolate' is less precise than 'I prefer chocolate.'

Fun facts

The term 'confirmation bias' describes our tendency to seek out and interpret information in a way that confirms our existing beliefs.