prejudices

1. 1
   noun

   Plural of prejudice.

   Her prejudices about other cultures faded after she traveled widely.

   The book examines the prejudices that shaped colonial attitudes.

   Note

   Each counted prejudice is a separate opinion formed in advance, and the plural lets a writer list them: her prejudices about food, music and travel. Not all of them need be hostile, since a preconception can lean favorable as well as against. The same spelling is also the verb meaning "biases". A possessive before it (her prejudices) marks the noun, and a following object (prejudices the jury) marks the verb.

2. 2
   verb

   Third-person singular simple present indicative of prejudice.

   Releasing the photos prejudices the trial before it even begins.

   Her sharp tone prejudices listeners against ideas they might otherwise accept.

   Note

   Two meanings share this form, and the object tells them apart. When the object is a person or an audience, it means biasing their judgment, often with against: it prejudices voters against the plan. When the object is a position, a chance or a case, it means damaging it: the delay prejudices her chances. In both meanings the verb needs a direct object and is never used on its own.

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