discriminatory
Showing unjust bias
Discriminatory describes actions, policies, or attitudes that treat people unfairly based on characteristics like race, sex, age, or religion: discriminatory hiring practices, The law was ruled discriminatory.
The word carries negative connotations—calling something discriminatory implies it's unjust, not merely that it makes distinctions.
Biased against a group
- bigotedStubbornly intolerant of others
- racistOne prejudiced by ethnicity
- sexistBiased based on gender
- ageistPrejudiced against older people
homophobic · xenophobic · transphobic · chauvinistic · sectarian · partisan · narrow-minded · intolerant
Not fair or impartial
- unjustNot fair or right
- disproportionateNot properly scaled
- unfairUnjust or partial
- one-sidedUnfairly weighted toward one
lopsided · preferential · disparate · imbalanced · weighted · skewed · arbitrary · selective
Forced separation by group
- marginalizationRelegation to powerless periphery
- ostracismBanishment from a group
- redliningRefusing loans by neighborhood
- ghettoizationForced residential segregation
blacklisting · banishment · expulsion · boycott · shunning · scapegoating · stigmatization · alienation
Preferring kin in hiring
- cronyismFavoring friends in appointments
- patronageSupporter's financial backing
- preferential treatmentAdvantages given selectively
- elitismPreference for privileged rule
cliquishness · partisanship · insider · in-group · tribalism · classism · old-boy network · glass ceiling
Of formal establishments
- structuralRelating to building framework
- endemicNative to one area
- entrenchedFirmly established, resistant to change
- ingrainedFirmly established by habit
pervasive · codified · legalized · normalized · embedded · historical · bureaucratic · organizational
prejudiced
Biased against a group
ageist · homophobic · xenophobic · transphobic · chauvinistic · sectarian · partisan · narrow-minded · intolerant · ethnocentric
inequitable
Not fair or impartial
- unjustNot fair or right
- disproportionateNot properly scaled
- unfairUnjust or partial
one-sided · lopsided · preferential · disparate · imbalanced · weighted · skewed · arbitrary · selective · differential
segregation
Forced separation by group
- marginalizationRelegation to powerless periphery
- ostracismBanishment from a group
- redliningRefusing loans by neighborhood
ghettoization · blacklisting · banishment · expulsion · boycott · shunning · scapegoating · stigmatization · alienation · isolation
nepotism
Preferring kin in hiring
- cronyismFavoring friends in appointments
- patronageSupporter's financial backing
- preferential treatmentAdvantages given selectively
elitism · cliquishness · partisanship · insider · in-group · tribalism · classism · old-boy network · glass ceiling · meritless
institutional
Of formal establishments
- structuralRelating to building framework
- endemicNative to one area
- entrenchedFirmly established, resistant to change
ingrained · pervasive · codified · legalized · normalized · embedded · historical · bureaucratic · organizational · workplace
- unfairnessunfair, unjust, biased, unequal, inequitable
- intolerantbigoted, biased, prejudiced, intolerant, narrow-minded
- wickedevil, wicked, villainous, malicious, sinister
- bigotsbigot, bigots, racist, racists, sexist
discriminatoryfair
Impartial and unbiased
equal · equitable · nondiscriminatory · unprejudiced · just
- discriminatory practicesUnfair treatment targeting groups
- discriminatory lawsRegulations favoring or harming groups