bias
/ˈbʌɪəs
/noun
1 [mass noun] Inclination or prejudice for or against one person or group, especially in a way considered to be unfair: there was evidence of bias against black applicants the bias towards younger people in recruitment...
- Has there been prejudice and bias against the applicant by both the judge at first instance and by the majority of the Full Court?
- Publication bias in favour of aspirin also exists.
- In an article for today's paper, the government's transport adviser firmly rejects claims of an unfair bias in favour of London and the south-east.
Synonyms
prejudice, partiality, partisanship, favouritism, unfairness, one-sidedness;
bigotry, intolerance, racism, racialism, sexism, heterosexism, homophobia, chauvinism, anti-Semitism, discrimination, a jaundiced eye;
predisposition, leaning, tendency, inclination, propensity, proclivity, proneness, predilection;
French parti pris
1.1A concentration on or interest in one particular area or subject: his work showed a discernible bias towards philosophy...
- He is interested in the human bias towards particular scientific ideas, not on the scale of a particular concrete example as in our pictures above, but within an entire area of science.
- The downturn in the technology sector has been unkind to those with a strong bias towards this area.
- There is a discernible bias to topics popular with the current generation of French and Russian mathematicians, who form the bulk of the authors.
1.2A systematic distortion of a statistical result due to a factor not allowed for in its derivation.Furthermore, the statistical bias varies with the filling factor....
- Consideration of potential confounders, measures to prevent bias, and appropriate statistical analysis were mostly lacking.
- We prefer a random partition that produces a point estimate with less bias than would result from a deterministic partition.
2A direction diagonal to the weave of a fabric: a turquoise silk dress cut on the bias...
- Garment pieces cut on the bias should be pressed with the lengthwise grainline, to avoid stretching.
- Then I trimmed that seam down to 1/4 ‘all around and finished it with a Hong Kong finish, using a sheer fabric cut on the bias.’
- The undercollar is traditionally cut on the bias in two pieces with a center back seam.
Synonyms
diagonal, cross, slant, oblique, angle
3(In bowls) the irregular shape given to one side of a bowl.This model bowl has the Traditional bias which has stood the test of time wherever Lawn Bowls is played....
- The bowls are not quite round. They are shaved on one side which gives them the bias.
- Very easy to hold and with a predictable line it is a match for any modern bias bowl.
3.1The oblique course taken by a bowl as a result of its irregular shape.Bowling indoors is a completely different experience from outdoors and requires different characteristics in the bowls used, the artificial surface being very much faster and more prone to bias....
- Heavy weight and Medium weight bowls run with the same bias.
- Increased amounts of bias will reduce the maximum attainable speed. The top speed with maximum bias is approximately 55 mph!
4 Electronics A steady voltage, magnetic field, or other factor applied to a system or device to cause it to operate over a predetermined range.Semiconductor amplifying circuit having improved bias circuit for supplying a bias voltage to an amplifying FET...
- At higher T, it takes less time for thermal fluctuations to induce rupture under an applied bias force.
- The experimental data suggest the opposite: increasing the applied voltage bias usually increases the duration of the current blockades.
verb (biases, biasing, biased) [with object]
1Cause to feel or show inclination or prejudice for or against someone or something: readers said the paper was biased towards the Conservatives editors were biased against authors from provincial universities...
- Some of them might even be open to argument along these lines, but the overwhelming vast majority of them will be biased against your views.
- Examined from the learner's point of view, the standard approach is heavily biased against beginning students.
- Questions are already being asked about whether the lead researcher was inherently biased against the drug.
Synonyms
prejudice, influence, colour, sway, weight, predispose;
distort, skew, bend, twist, warp;
angle, load, slant
prejudiced, partial, partisan, one-sided, blinkered, subjective;
bigoted, intolerant, discriminatory, racist, racialist, sexist, heterosexist, homophobic, anti-gay, chauvinistic, chauvinist, anti-Semitic;
jaundiced, distorted, warped, twisted, skewed;
French parti pris
2 Electronics Give a bias to: bias the valve so that the anode current is normally zero or small...
- Hence, the unbiased variance estimator may be negatively biased due to spatial autocorrelation.
- When a MOS channel is formed by forward biasing the gate, a Zener tunnel current evolves with a steep turn-on characteristic.
- The opening is urged to a closed position by resiliently biasing the filamentary members.
Origin
Mid 16th century (in the sense 'oblique line'; also as an adjective meaning 'oblique'): from French biais, from Provençal, perhaps based on Greek epikarsios 'oblique'.