favoritism

C2+ Topic:People & Society

Also spelled favouritism

US /ˈfeɪvərɪˌtɪzəm/ UK /ˈfeɪvərɪtɪzəm/ See IPA manual

noun

Meanings

1

noun
the unfair favoring of one person or group over others

Staff complained of favoritism in the promotions.

Thesaurus

Synonyms

1 noun · the unfair favoring of one... partiality bias nepotism preference prejudice one-sidedness

Opposites

impartiality fairness equity objectivity

Word family

Related forms favorite favor favored

Etymology

From 'favorite' + the noun-forming suffix '-ism'. 'Favorite' is from Italian 'favorito', from 'favorire' ('to favor'), from Latin 'favor' ('goodwill'), from 'favēre' ('to be favorable').

favor Old French favēre Latin

View etymology graph ->

Topics

People & Society Word Formation & Derivatives

# favoritism

**Type:** Word
**Level:** C2+
**Part of speech:** noun
**IPA (US):** ˈfeɪvərɪˌtɪzəm
**IPA (UK):** ˈfeɪvərɪtɪzəm

## Meanings
1. the unfair favoring of one person or group over others

## Examples
- Staff complained of favoritism in the promotions.

## Synonyms
- partiality
- bias
- nepotism
- preference
- prejudice
- one-sidedness

## Antonyms
- impartiality
- fairness
- equity
- objectivity

## Related Forms
- favorite
- favor
- favored

## Roots and Affixes
- Root: favor
- Root: favēre

## Etymology
From 'favorite' + the noun-forming suffix '-ism'. 'Favorite' is from Italian 'favorito', from 'favorire' ('to favor'), from Latin 'favor' ('goodwill'), from 'favēre' ('to be favorable').

## AI Etymology
Favoritism comes from 'favorite' + the noun-forming suffix '-ism'. 'Favorite' is from Italian 'favorito', from 'favorire' ('to favor'), from Latin 'favor' ('goodwill'), from 'favēre' ('to be favorable'). Morphologically, the form is compositional, with the named elements combining to produce the modern spelling and sense. In present use, it is used as a noun meaning "the unfair favoring of one person or group over others", so the historical material remains connected with the current sense rather than standing as bare ancestry. The wider English family includes related forms such as favorite, favor, and favored, showing how the same historical material continues to organize neighboring vocabulary. The named historical forms include Latin favor and Latin favēre, keeping the history tied to concrete forms rather than a loose resemblance. Its semantic neighborhood is marked by partiality, bias, nepotism, and preference on one side and contrasts such as impartiality, fairness, and equity on the other, locating the modern specialization without adding a new origin story.

## Topics
- People & Society
- Word Formation & Derivatives

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favoritism

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