bias

B2 Topic:People & Society

US /ˈbaɪ.əs/ See IPA manual

Freq #15781

Meanings

1

noun
An unfair preference for or against a person, group, or idea.

The report showed a clear bias against younger candidates.
2

verb
To unfairly influence someone's opinion or judgment.

You are biasing my choice by telling me which one you picked.

Verb forms

Verb forms are not available for this word yet.

Thesaurus

Synonyms

1 noun · an unfair preference for or... prejudice partiality predisposition

Word family

Forms biasedbiasesbiasingbiassedbiassesbiassingbyassed

Derived forms antibiasbias-plybias-robustbiasablebiasnessbiaswisedebiasmetabiasnonbiasoverbiasrebiasunbias

Appears in

Phrases (1)

See all

experimenter bias
an influence on research results caused by a researcher's expectations

Noun + noun

Etymology

c. 1520 in the sense "oblique line". As a technical term in the game of bowls c. 1560, whence the figurative use (c. 1570). From Middle French biais, adverbially ("sideways, askance, against the grain") c. 1250, as a noun ("oblique angle, slant") from the late 16th century. The French word is likely from Old Occitan biais, itself of obscure origin, most likely from Vulgar Latin *biaxius (“with two axes”).

biais Middle French *biaxius la-vul

View etymology graph ->

Topics

People & Society Psychology & Behavior

External links

# bias

**Type:** Word
**Level:** B2
**Part of speech:** noun, verb
**IPA (US):** /ˈbaɪ.əs/
**Frequency rank:** 15781

## Meanings
1. An unfair preference for or against a person, group, or idea.
2. To unfairly influence someone's opinion or judgment.

## Examples
- The report showed a clear bias against younger candidates.
- You are biasing my choice by telling me which one you picked.

## Derived Forms
- antibias
- bias-ply
- bias-robust
- biasable
- biasness
- biaswise
- debias
- metabias
- nonbias
- overbias
- rebias
- unbias

## Roots and Affixes
- Root: biais
- Root: *biaxius

## Etymology
c. 1520 in the sense "oblique line". As a technical term in the game of bowls c. 1560, whence the figurative use (c. 1570). From Middle French biais, adverbially ("sideways, askance, against the grain") c. 1250, as a noun ("oblique angle, slant") from the late 16th century. The French word is likely from Old Occitan biais, itself of obscure origin, most likely from Vulgar Latin *biaxius (“with two axes”).

## AI Etymology
Bias is attested c. 1520 in the sense "oblique line". As a technical term in the game of bowls c. 1560, whence the figurative use (c. 1570). From Middle French biais, adverbially ("sideways, askance, against the grain") c. 1250, as a noun ("oblique angle, slant") from the late 16th century. The French word is likely from Old Occitan biais, itself of obscure origin, most likely from Vulgar Latin *biaxius (“with two axes”). Important recorded forms include biais (Middle French) and *biaxius (la-vul). Current senses include an unfair preference for or against a person, group, or idea and to unfairly influence someone's opinion or judgment. The wider family includes derived forms such as antibias, bias-ply, bias-robust, biasable, and biasness.

## Topics
- People & Society
- Psychology & Behavior

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