unbiased

unbiased — adjective

1. able to make fair judgments or decisions without letting your personal feelings

1.adjectiveB2
Definition

able to make fair judgments or decisions without letting your personal feelings or preferences affect the outcome

Example

Amira tried to remain unbiased when she judged the school debate competition.

remain + unbiased (linking verb pattern)

The newspaper promised to provide unbiased coverage of the local election campaign.

unbiased + noun (prenominal modifier)

Common collocations
  • unbiased opinion
  • unbiased view
  • unbiased assessment
  • unbiased judge
  • unbiased observer
  • unbiased report
  • unbiased coverage
  • unbiased information
Synonyms
  • impartial

    Focuses on not favoring any side in a dispute; stronger emphasis on equal treatment of all parties involved

  • objective

    Emphasizes judgments based on verifiable facts rather than personal feelings; common in science and journalism

  • neutral

    Can imply staying out of a disagreement entirely rather than actively judging; broader in meaning

  • fair

    More general and common in everyday speech; covers treating people equally but may still allow for personal values

Antonyms
  • biased

    Direct opposite: influenced by personal opinions or preferences

  • prejudiced

    Stronger negative connotation of preconceived opinions based on group membership rather than facts

  • partial

    Showing favoritism toward one side; more formal than 'biased'

Grammar Patterns

unbiased + noun (e.g. unbiased opinion, unbiased report)

be/remain/stay + unbiased

Common Mistakes

The judge was unbiased and gave both sides equal time.
The judge was impartial and gave both sides equal time.
'unbiased' focuses on internal state (no personal bias), while 'impartial' focuses on observable even-handed treatment of people in a dispute.
She gave an unbiased answer on the math test.
She gave a correct answer on the math test.
'unbiased' describes fair judgment of people or situations, not the accuracy of factual answers.

Word family

  • unbiasedly
    adverbC1
  • bias
    nounB2
  • bias
    verbC1
  • biased
    adjectiveB2

Synonym discussion

Sense: adjective/1

All four words describe judgments that are not distorted by personal feeling, but they differ in emphasis. 'Impartial' is the closest synonym to 'unbiased' — it stresses equal treatment of all parties, especially in disputes or competitions. 'Objective' highlights reliance on observable facts rather than subjective opinion; it is the preferred term in science, journalism, and data-driven fields. 'Neutral' can mean taking no side at all, which sometimes implies staying out rather than actively judging. 'Fair' is the broadest and most everyday term, covering everything from following rules to treating people decently. For example, a judge in a court is expected to be impartial, a scientist should be objective about experimental results, a mediator stays neutral, and a teacher should be fair to all students.

impartialobjective ↗neutral ↗fair ↗

Common collocations

Nouns

Adverbs

  • completely unbiased
  • entirely unbiased
  • truly unbiased
  • totally unbiased

Etymology

FrenchEnglish

Formed by adding the prefix 'un-' (meaning 'not') to 'biased,' which comes from 'bias.' The word 'bias' entered English from French 'biais,' meaning a slant or oblique angle. In the game of lawn bowls, 'bias' described the weight that made a ball curve sideways. By the 1500s, the word had taken on a figurative meaning: an inclination or prejudice that pulls judgment in a particular direction. 'Unbiased' therefore literally means 'without a slant' — not tilted toward any side.