Prejudice

How to spell prejudice

9 letters · 3 syllables

How to pronounce prejudice

Say the part in capitals loudest.

What does prejudice mean?

1. nounA preconceived opinion or unfair bias, usually against a person or group, formed without adequate knowledge.
2. verbTo cause harm or disadvantage to something, or to influence someone toward an unfair opinion in advance.

Prejudice in a sentence

• noun

  The new manager worked hard to remove prejudice from the hiring process.

• verb

  Missing the deadline could seriously prejudice your insurance claim.

• noun

  Racial prejudice has no place in a modern workplace.

• verb

  The judge warned that the article might prejudice the jury before the trial.

Where does prejudice come from?

Language of origin: Latin

The word comes from the Latin praejudicium, which combined prae meaning 'before' with judicium meaning 'judgment'. The literal sense was a judgment formed in advance, or a preliminary legal ruling that set a precedent before the full case was heard. English took it through Old French as 'prejudice' during the 1200s, at first carrying the legal idea of damage or harm done to someone's rights, a meaning still alive in the phrase 'without prejudice'. From there it broadened to mean an opinion fixed before the facts are known, especially an unfair bias against a person or group. The 'jud' at its heart is the same root that gives us 'judge', 'judgment' and 'judicial', and remembering that hidden 'jud' is the key to spelling it, since the trap is the unstressed ending that sounds like '-iss'.

How the word is built

• pre- (before)
• jud (from Latin judicium: judgment)
• -ice (noun suffix)