biased

adjective

bi·​ased ˈbī-əst How to pronounce biased (audio)
1
: exhibiting or characterized by bias
2
: tending to yield one outcome more frequently than others in a statistical experiment
a biased coin
3
: having an expected value different from the quantity or parameter estimated
a biased estimate

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Bias vs. Biased

In recent years, we have seen more evidence of the adjectival bias in constructions like “a bias news program” instead of the more usual “a biased news program.” The reason is likely because of aural confusion: the -ed of biased may be filtered out by hearers, which means that bias and biased can sound similar in the context of normal speech. They are not interchangeable, however. The adjective that means “exhibited or characterized by an unreasoned judgment” is biased (“a biased news story”). There is an adjective bias, but it means “diagonal” and is used only of fabrics (“a bias cut across the fabric”).

Examples of biased in a Sentence

It's also politically biased, full of slighting references to the Whigs, whom Johnson detested, and imperiously chauvinistic, wherever possible dismissing or making light of words imported from French. Charles McGrath, New York Times Book Review, 4 Dec. 2005
I am willing to believe that history is for the most part inaccurate and biased, but what is peculiar to our age is the abandonment of the idea that history could be truthfully written. In the past people deliberately lied, or they unconsciously colored what they wrote, or they struggled after the truth, well knowing that they must make many mistakes; but in each case they believed that 'the facts' existed and were more or less discoverable. Leon Wieseltier, New Republic, 17 Feb. 2003
The information experts say that it's dangerous to conclude very much from talking to people because you will never interact with a scientifically selected random sample. Thus, the information you derive from meeting people is biased or anecdotal. Will Manley, Booklist, 1 Mar. 2002
But even if you think I may be biased about the book's conclusions, please trust me about its awful prose. James Martin, Commonweal, 3 May 2002
She is too biased to write about the case objectively. He is biased against women. The judges of the talent show were biased toward musical acts.
Recent Examples on the Web
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.
Additional allegations included the denial of religious exemptions to COVID-19 vaccine mandates for military personnel, biased treatment of Christian Foreign Service Officers, and efforts to suppress Christian expression in federal schools and agencies. Ross Rosenfeld, MSNBC Newsweek, 23 Apr. 2025 The government, Cramer asserted, is biased against Apple and Nvidia, the latter of which designs semiconductors that have been highly in demand across the world. Julie Coleman, CNBC, 21 Apr. 2025 Over the course of several weeks, a mini-trial over the death penalty played out in Klapper’s courtroom as Villanueva-Morales’ lawyers cast the way it’s practiced in the state as racially biased and unfair. Jonathan Shorman, Kansas City Star, 17 Apr. 2025 And Meta has taken a number of steps to appease Trump, including ending its fact-checking program, something Trump supporters and other conservatives have long attacked as biased. Bobby Allyn, NPR, 15 Apr. 2025 See All Example Sentences for biased

Word History

Etymology

see bias entry 1

First Known Use

1599, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Time Traveler
The first known use of biased was in 1599

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Cite this Entry

“Biased.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/biased. Accessed 1 May. 2025.

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