as in bias
the unfair practice of treating some people better than others
The favoritism of the boss led to many disgruntled employees. He accused the teacher of showing favoritism in assigning grades.
Related Words
Relevance
Dissimilar Words
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 favoritism
The questions around political access, favoritism, and governance should be monitored by both the public and a transparent legal system, which Syria does not yet have.
—
Mohammed Sergie,
semafor.com,
24 June 2026
Still, the entire regulatory review was clouded by charges of political favoritism and cronyism.
—
Brian Stelter,
CNN Money,
12 June 2026
Enforce laws without favoritism.
—
Wesley Stenzel,
Entertainment Weekly,
9 June 2026
This favoritism is driven by legacy preferences, athletic recruitment and nonacademic ratings that reward expensive resume-building, yet elite universities remain reluctant to change these practices.
—
Prasad Krishnamurthy,
Mercury News,
4 June 2026
See All Example Sentences for favoritism
Mohammed Sergie,
semafor.com,
24 June 2026
Still, the entire regulatory review was clouded by charges of political favoritism and cronyism.
—
Brian Stelter,
CNN Money,
12 June 2026
Enforce laws without favoritism.
—
Wesley Stenzel,
Entertainment Weekly,
9 June 2026
This favoritism is driven by legacy preferences, athletic recruitment and nonacademic ratings that reward expensive resume-building, yet elite universities remain reluctant to change these practices.
—
Prasad Krishnamurthy,
Mercury News,
4 June 2026
See All Example Sentences for favoritism
Recent Examples of Synonyms for favoritism
Noun
-
Meanwhile, Grok showed the strongest biases, highly favoring Catholics and Protestants while showing an aversion for Jehovah’s Witnesses, Baha’i and Hindus.
-
In fact, Smith has long argued that the NFL has overlooked Black candidates at those positions because of racial bias.
Noun
-
For much of the past several decades, overt expressions of racial prejudice became increasingly socially unacceptable in mainstream public life.
-
Ableism is the everyday prejudice — sometimes subtle, sometimes overt — that treats people with disabilities as inconvenient, less competent, or less deserving of respect and opportunity.
Noun
-
In an unstable industry with IP, nepotism and maybe even now artificial intelligence ruling supreme, Ridd and Boa have doubled down on emerging filmmakers with original stories.
-
Gracie Abrams understands why people bring her up in conversations about nepotism.
Noun
-
This is the wrong time for a baseball stadium — or anything that looks frivolous or smacks of cronyism.
-
While no rules were broken, the revelations conflicted with Starmer’s portrayal of himself as an antidote to the cronyism displayed by successive Conservative leaders.
Cite this Entry
“Favoritism.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/favoritism. Accessed 5 Jul. 2026.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
