What does "bias" mean?
Inclination towards something.
Bias
/ˈbaɪ.əs/ adj, adv, name, noun, verb
adj, adv, name, noun, verb ·Very common ·Middle school level
Meaning at a glance
- Primary sense: Inclination towards something.
- Grammar: bias is listed as adj, adv, name, noun, verb.
- Nearest alternatives: preconception, prejudice, a thing for, aberrancy.
- Useful contrasts: antibias, academic belonging, academic impartiality.
- Usage evidence: You have to judge the case without bias.
How to use "bias"
- Start with the primary definition, then check the part of speech before placing the word in a sentence.
- Compare nearby synonyms to make sure "bias" carries the exact meaning, tone, and strength you need.
- Use the example sentence as a context check. If your sentence uses the word differently, confirm that the grammar still fits.
Meaning check
- Does the word fit the sentence's grammar?
- Does it match the intended tone rather than only the dictionary definition?
- Would a simpler synonym be clearer for the reader?
- Is there enough surrounding context to prevent ambiguity?
Source and review context
This entry combines structured lexical data with WordToolSet review checks. Definitions, examples, synonyms, and usage notes may come from different source tables, so the page is designed to show evidence from more than one angle before you rely on "bias" in a final draft.
If a word has several senses, prefer the sense that matches your sentence's grammar and surrounding context. A correct definition can still be the wrong choice when the sentence needs a different register, emphasis, or level of specificity.
Before you rely on this definition
Read the first definition as a starting point, then check the example, synonyms, and part of speech before treating "bias" as the right word for your sentence.
If your draft is formal, technical, persuasive, or sensitive, compare "bias" with a nearby alternative so the final choice matches both meaning and reader expectation.
Compare nearby meanings
- Use synonyms when you need a softer, stronger, simpler, or more specific word.
- Use antonyms to check the boundary of the meaning and avoid accidental contrast.
- Use the example sentence to confirm the word behaves naturally in context.
- Keep the original wording when a replacement adds complexity without improving precision.
Definition decision workflow
1. Identify the role
Check whether "bias" is acting as adj, adv, name, noun, verb in your sentence. A definition is only useful when the grammar matches the way the word is being used.
2. Test the nearest option
Compare it with "preconception" and other nearby choices to see whether the sentence needs a softer, stronger, or more familiar word.
3. Confirm with context
Use the example sentence below as an evidence check, then read your own sentence out loud to catch tone or rhythm problems.
Review note: Definition pages are checked for source coverage, sentence evidence, synonym support, and editorial insight before they are treated as approval-ready pages. If the evidence is too thin, the page remains available to users but is kept out of the approval-facing indexed inventory.
Final meaning check
Before publishing a sentence with "bias", ask whether the word helps the reader understand the idea faster. A precise word should reduce confusion, not simply make the sentence look more polished.
When the definition, synonym evidence, and example context point in the same direction, the word is usually a safer choice. When they conflict, revise the sentence or choose a clearer alternative.
Definitions
Noun
- 1 Inclination towards something. countable, uncountable
"Morality […] give[s] a bias to all their [men's] actions."
- 2 a partiality that prevents objective consideration of an issue or situation wordnet
- 3 The diagonal line between warp and weft in a woven fabric. countable
- 4 a line or cut across a fabric that is not at right angles to a side of the fabric wordnet
- 5 A wedge-shaped piece of cloth taken out of a garment (such as the waist of a dress) to diminish its circumference. countable
Show 4 more definitions
- 6 A voltage or current applied to an electronic device, such as a transistor electrode, to move its operating point to a desired part of its transfer function. countable, uncountable
- 7 The difference between the expectation of the sample estimator and the true population value, which reduces the representativeness of the estimator by systematically distorting it. countable, uncountable
- 8 In the games of crown green bowls and lawn bowls: a weight added to one side of a bowl so that as it rolls, it will follow a curved rather than a straight path; the oblique line followed by such a bowl; the lopsided shape or structure of such a bowl. In lawn bowls, the curved course is caused only by the shape of the bowl. The use of weights is prohibited. countable, uncountable
"there is a concealed bias within the spheroid"
- 9 A person's favourite member of a K-pop band. countable, uncountable
"The last thing you want is for your camera to die when you finally get that selca with your bias."
Verb
- 1 To place bias upon; to influence. transitive
"Our prejudices bias our views."
- 2 cause to be biased wordnet
- 3 To give a bias to.
"2002, H. Dijkstra, J. Libby, Overview of silicon detectors, Nuclear Instruments and Methods in Physics Research A 494, 86–93, p. 87. On the ohmic side n⁺ is implanted to provide the ohmic contact to bias the detector."
- 4 influence in an unfair way wordnet
Adjective
- 1 Inclined to one side; swelled on one side.
"Thou, trumpet, there’s my purſe; / Now cracke thy lungs, and ſplit thy braſen pipe: / Blow, villaine, till thy ſphered Bias cheeke / Out-ſwell the collicke of puft Aquilon: / Come, ſtretch thy cheſt, and let thy eyes ſpout bloud: / Thou bloweſt for Hector."
- 2 Cut slanting or diagonally, as cloth.
Adjective
- 1 slanting diagonally across the grain of a fabric wordnet
Adverb
- 1 In a slanting manner; crosswise; obliquely; diagonally. not-comparable
"to cut cloth bias"
Proper Noun
- 1 One of the Seven Sages of Greece from Priene, living in the 6th century BC. historical
- 2 A surname.
Synonyms
All synonymsAntonyms
Example
"You have to judge the case without bias."
Common questions
What is a synonym for "bias"?
Common synonyms include: preconception, prejudice, a thing for, aberrancy, aberration, across.
How do you use "bias" in a sentence?
You have to judge the case without bias.
How do you pronounce "bias"?
Pronounced /ˈbaɪ.əs/.
Etymology
Etymology 1
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”).
Etymology 2
From Ancient Greek Βίας (Bías).