prejudging

Deciding before knowing

Prejudging is forming an opinion before having adequate information or experience.

The word carries negative connotations—it suggests unfairness or closed-mindedness: You're prejudging him based on rumors.

The noun prejudice derives from the same root, capturing how premature judgments harden into bias.

bias

preconception

Belief formed beforehand

bigotry · intolerance · narrow-mindedness · favoritism · unfairness · predisposition · one-sidedness · prepossession · prejudice · closed-mindedness

assumption

jumping to conclusions

Forming judgments prematurely

conjecture · presupposition · surmise · hypothesis · preconception · hasty generalization · preassessment

stereotype

typecast

Repeatedly assigned similar roles

oversimplification · profile · categorize · stigmatize · caricature · profiling · racial profiling · stereotyping

Categories
Opposites
deliberative process

prejudgingdeliberating

Carefully thinking before deciding

deliberation · pondering · reflecting · mulling over · ruminating

openness to evidence

prejudgingopen-mindedness

Acceptance of differing viewpoints

impartiality · fair-mindedness · objectivity · staying neutral · receptiveness

temporal judgment process

prejudgingdeliberating

Carefully thinking before deciding

considering · evaluating · assessing · post-judgment · reflecting

Family

judge, judgment, judging, misjudge, judicious, judicial, unprejudiced, misjudgment, prejudge

Familiarity
Top 200,000
Profile
Known to kids · Used worldwide · Timeless · Abstract · Negative · Everyday, not technical · Rated G