impartial
adjective
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Impartial vs Partial
To be "partial to" or "partial toward" someone or something is to be somewhat biased or prejudiced, which means that a person who is partial really only sees part of the whole picture. To be impartial is the opposite. The United Nations sends impartial observers to monitor elections in troubled countries. We hope judges and juries will be impartial when they hand down verdicts. But grandparents aren't expected to be impartial when describing their new grandchild.
Synonyms
- candid
- disinterested
- dispassionate
- equal
- equitable
- evenhanded
- fair
- indifferent
- just
- nonpartisan
- objective
- square
- unbiased
- unprejudiced
Example Sentences
WIRED, 12 Sep. 2022 Grossi said his team will stay in place despite the danger and will provide an impartial assessment of what is happening on the ground. Caitlin Mcfall, Fox News, 2 Sep. 2022 Gerald Ford’s pardon of Richard Nixon will factor heavily into this, as will the notion that this is an impartial application of the law. Brynn Tannehill, The New Republic, 1 Sep. 2022 Each speaker has equal time, between seven and 12 minutes, to make their arguments before an impartial adjudicator, who awards the debate to the side that has persuaded them. Bo Seo, WSJ, 3 June 2022 And two weeks ago, the chairman of the Russian metals firm Rusal called for an impartial investigation into the killing of civilians in Bucha during the town's occupation by Russian forces. Clare Sebastian And Chris Liakos, CNN, 20 Apr. 2022 Conceição charts the settlers’ destabilized status in the country through the growing peril faced by a white female missionary, eventually evicted from her home by Black revolutionaries, though the film’s perspective remains aloof and impartial. Guy Lodge, Variety, 9 Aug. 2022 But the pursuit of a warm glow should be separate from doing the most impartial good. Gideon Lewis-kraus, The New Yorker, 8 Aug. 2022 The judge is the impartial one overseeing the case. Staff Reports, cleveland, 8 Aug. 2022 See More Word History
1587, in the meaning defined above
Kids Definition
impartial
adjective
Legal Definition
impartial
adjective
impartial
adjective
Synonyms & Similar Words
- equitable
- equal
- unbiased
- objective
- disinterested
- evenhanded
- dispassionate
- unprejudiced
- indifferent
- candid
- square
- nonpartisan
- fair
- just
- frank
- straightforward
- balanced
- reasonable
- forthright
- rational
- open
- straight
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
- biased
- partisan
- partial
- unjust
- inequitable
- prejudiced
- nonobjective
- dishonest
- deceptive
- unreasonable
- deceitful
- arbitrary
- one-sided
- ex parte
- unconscionable
- colored
- unfriendly
- unsympathetic
- parti pris
- jaundiced
- distorted
- warped
Synonym Chooser
Some common synonyms of impartial are dispassionate, equitable, fair, just, objective, and unbiased. While all these words mean "free from favor toward either or any side," impartial stresses an absence of favor or prejudice.
The synonyms dispassionate and impartial are sometimes interchangeable, but dispassionate suggests freedom from the influence of strong feeling and often implies cool or even cold judgment.
Equitable implies a less rigorous standard than just and usually suggests equal treatment of all concerned.
The words fair and impartial can be used in similar contexts, but fair implies a proper balance of conflicting interests.
The words just and impartial are synonyms, but do differ in nuance. Specifically, just implies an exact following of a standard of what is right and proper.
While in some cases nearly identical to impartial, objective stresses a tendency to view events or persons as apart from oneself and one's own interest or feelings.
In some situations, the words unbiased and impartial are roughly equivalent. However, unbiased implies even more strongly an absence of all prejudice.