prejudice
PREJ-uh-disnounMeaning an opinion formed before knowing the facts, usually an unfair one
Memory hook PRE-JUDGE: before a single bite. Dev decides he hates mushrooms before he has tasted a single bite: “Yuck!” He is judging ahead of time, out of prejudice.
Lila tried to read the new book without prejudice, even though she had disliked the author’s first one.
In context The coach admitted his prejudice against short players, formed before he had seen them play, until a five-foot guard led the team in steals.
Similar preconception, bias, prejudgment, intolerance
Opposite open-mindedness, fairness
From Latin praejudicium, “a judgment in advance”: prae- (before) + judicium (judgment).