Fair

/fɛə/ adj, adv, name, noun, verb

adj, adv, name, noun, verb ·Top 500 ·Elementary level

Meaning at a glance

  • Primary sense: Something which is fair (in various senses of the adjective).
  • Grammar: fair is listed as adj, adv, name, noun, verb.
  • Nearest alternatives: carnival, academic impartiality, acceptable, accommodating.
  • Useful contrasts: exorbitant, swarthy, arbitrary judgment.
  • Usage evidence: No love is foul nor prison fair.

How to use "fair"

  1. Start with the primary definition, then check the part of speech before placing the word in a sentence.
  2. Compare nearby synonyms to make sure "fair" carries the exact meaning, tone, and strength you need.
  3. 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 "fair" 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 "fair" as the right word for your sentence.

If your draft is formal, technical, persuasive, or sensitive, compare "fair" 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 "fair" 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 "carnival" 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 "fair", 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. 1
    Something which is fair (in various senses of the adjective).

    "When will we learn to distinguish between the fair and the foul?"

  2. 2
    A community gathering to celebrate and exhibit local achievements.
  3. 3
    Acronym of findability, accessibility, interoperability, and reusability, a set of principles for data management. abbreviation, acronym, alt-of, uncountable
  4. 4
    a traveling show; having sideshows and rides and games of skill etc. wordnet
  5. 5
    A woman, a member of the ‘fair sex’; also as a collective singular, women. obsolete

    "Love and Hymen, hand in hand, Come, restore the nuptial band! And sincere delights prepare To crown the hero and the fair."

Show 9 more definitions
  1. 6
    An event for public entertainment and trade, a market.

    "The turmoil went on—no rest, no peace. […] It was nearly eleven o'clock now, and he strolled out again. In the little fair created by the costers' barrows the evening only seemed beginning; and the naphtha flares made one's eyes ache, the men's voices grated harshly, and the girls' faces saddened one."

  2. 7
    a sale of miscellany; often for charity wordnet
  3. 8
    Fairness, beauty. obsolete

    "My decayed fair"

  4. 9
    An event for professionals in a trade to learn of new products and do business, a trade fair.
  5. 10
    a competitive exhibition of farm products wordnet
  6. 11
    A fair woman; a sweetheart.

    "I have found out a gift for my fair."

  7. 12
    A travelling amusement park (called a funfair in British English and a (travelling) carnival in US English).
  8. 13
    gathering of producers to promote business wordnet
  9. 14
    Good fortune; good luck. obsolete

    "Now, fair befall thee, good Petruchio!"

Verb
  1. 1
    To smoothen or even a surface (especially a connection or junction on a surface). transitive
  2. 2
    join so that the external surfaces blend smoothly wordnet
  3. 3
    To bring into perfect alignment (especially about rivet holes when connecting structural members). transitive
  4. 4
    To make an animation smooth, removing any jerkiness. transitive

    "Since the sequence of data contain sampling noises, the captured motion is not smooth and wiggles along the moving path. There are well-known fairing algorithms in Euclidean space based on difference geometry."

  5. 5
    To construct or design with the aim of producing a smooth outline or reducing air drag or water resistance. transitive

    "Two forward cars were provided with the model. One of these (shown detached in Fig. 1) was faired at its after end, with a view to possible reduction of head resistance, and to induce a better flow of air to the propeller."

Show 7 more definitions
  1. 6
    To make fair or beautiful. obsolete, transitive

    "Fairing the foul with art’s false borrow’d face"

  2. 7
    To become fair (favorable, not stormy). intransitive

    "[The] weather faired, and toward midday we were again facing the fringe of breakers from the cliffs."

  3. 8
    1929, James Frank Dobie, A Vaquero of the Brush Country, page 88
  4. 9
    1929, James Frank Dobie, A Vaquero of the Brush Country, page 88: ... weather "faired off" next morning, and we were not a bit sorry to mark time for a couple of days while the water went down.; ... weather "faired off" next morning, and we were not a bit sorry to mark time for a couple of days while the water went down.
  5. 10
    1992 05, Wallace O. Chariton, Charlie Eckhardt, Kevin Young, Unsolved Texas Mysteries, Taylor Trade Publications, →ISBN, page 205
  6. 11
    1992 05, Wallace O. Chariton, Charlie Eckhardt, Kevin Young, Unsolved Texas Mysteries, Taylor Trade Publications, →ISBN, page 205: ... weather faired up but there was no thought of delay; it was time for Texas to move forward and form a new, independent government. In an effort to combat the frigid conditions, the delegates nailed thin pieces of cloth over the[…]; ... weather faired up but there was no thought of delay; it was time for Texas to move forward and form a new, independent government. In an effort to combat the frigid conditions, the delegates nailed thin pieces of cloth over the[…]
  7. 12
    For more quotations using this term, see Citations:fair.
Adjective
  1. 1
    Beautiful, of a pleasing appearance, with a pure and fresh quality. archaic, literary

    "Monday's child is fair of face."

  2. 2
    Unblemished (figuratively or literally); clean and pure; innocent.

    "one's fair name"

  3. 3
    Light in color, pale, particularly with regard to skin tone but also referring to blond and red hair.

    "She had fair hair and blue eyes."

  4. 4
    Just.

    "He must be given a fair trial."

  5. 5
    Adequate, reasonable, or decent, but not excellent.

    "Their performance has been only fair."

Show 9 more definitions
  1. 6
    Favorable to a ship's course.

    "I shipped with them and becoming friends, we set forth on our venture, in health and safety; and sailed with a fair wind, till we came to a city called Madínat-al-Sín; […]"

  2. 7
    Favorable, pleasant.

    "The weather was fair today."

  3. 8
    Favorable, pleasant.; Not overcast; cloudless; clear.

    "a fair sky"

  4. 9
    Favorable, pleasant.; Free from obstacles or hindrances; unobstructed; unencumbered; open; direct; said of a road, passage, etc.

    "a fair mark;  in fair sight;  a fair view"

  5. 10
    Without sudden change of direction or curvature; smooth; flowing; said of the figure of a vessel, and of surfaces, water lines, and other lines.
  6. 11
    Between the baselines.
  7. 12
    Taken direct from an opponent's foot, without the ball touching the ground or another player.
  8. 13
    Not a no ball.
  9. 14
    Of a coin or die, having equal chance of landing on any side, unbiased.

    "A fair coin has a 50% chance of landing on heads."

Adjective
  1. 1
    very pleasing to the eye wordnet
  2. 2
    (used of hair or skin) pale or light-colored wordnet
  3. 3
    free of clouds or rain wordnet
  4. 4
    (of a baseball) hit between the foul lines wordnet
  5. 5
    free from favoritism or self-interest or bias or deception; conforming with established standards or rules wordnet
Show 5 more definitions
  1. 6
    gained or earned without cheating or stealing wordnet
  2. 7
    (of a manuscript) having few alterations or corrections wordnet
  3. 8
    attractively feminine wordnet
  4. 9
    not excessive or extreme wordnet
  5. 10
    lacking exceptional quality or ability wordnet
Adverb
  1. 1
    Clearly, openly, frankly, civilly, honestly, favorably, auspiciously, agreeably.
  2. 2
    Almost; to a great extent but not literally. Ireland

    ""I'm fair moidered to know what to do wid him," she confessed to the rosy-cheeked Bridget one day."

Adverb
  1. 1
    without favoring one party, in a fair evenhanded manner wordnet
  2. 2
    in conformity with the rules or laws and without fraud or cheating wordnet
Proper Noun
  1. 1
    A surname.
  2. 2
    Acronym of Federation for American Immigration Reform. US, abbreviation, acronym, alt-of

    "While there is no official definition of sanctuaries, FAIR counted any jurisdiction that bans police or other officials from asking about immigration status, forbids communication with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, or refuses to hold likely deportees for pickup by ICE."

  3. 3
    Acronym of Facebook AI Research. abbreviation, acronym, alt-of

Synonyms

All synonyms
carnivalacademic impartialityacceptableaccommodatingadequateadequate

Antonyms

exorbitantswarthyarbitrary judgmentbiasable

Example

"No love is foul nor prison fair."

Common questions

What does "fair" mean?

Something which is fair (in various senses of the adjective).

What is a synonym for "fair"?

Common synonyms include: carnival, academic impartiality, acceptable, accommodating, adequate, adequate.

How do you use "fair" in a sentence?

No love is foul nor prison fair.

How do you pronounce "fair"?

Pronounced /fɛə/.

Etymology

Etymology 1

From Middle English fayr, feir, fager, from Old English fæġer (“beautiful”), from Proto-West Germanic *fagr, from Proto-Germanic *fagraz (“suitable, fitting, nice”), from Proto-Indo-European *peh₂ḱ- (“to fasten, place”). Cognate with Scots fayr, fare (“fair”), Danish feir, faver, fager (“fair, pretty”), Norwegian fager (“fair, pretty”), Swedish fager (“fair, pretty”), Icelandic fagur (“beautiful, fair”), Umbrian pacer (“gracious, merciful, kind”), Slovak pekný (“good-looking, handsome, nice”). See also peace.

Etymology 2

From Middle English feyre, from Old French foire, from Latin fēriae.

More for "fair"

Synonyms

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