Origin: Latin prefix pre-
Prejudice has 6 different meanings across 2 categories:
a partiality that prevents objective consideration of an issue or situation
"His prejudice against new ideas prevented him from objectively considering the proposal's merits."
An adverse judgment or opinion formed beforehand or without knowledge of the facts.
"The manager's decision to reject all applicants from that university stemmed from a deep-seated prejudice against their academic program."
In plain English: Prejudice is when you have an unfair opinion about someone before even knowing them well enough to make a fair judgment.
"The teacher explained to her students that prejudice means judging someone unfairly before getting to know them properly."
Usage: Use prejudice as a noun to describe an unfair preconceived opinion about someone based on their group identity. Avoid confusing it with bias when you need to emphasize that this judgment was formed without knowledge of the facts.
disadvantage by prejudice
"The new policy inadvertently put minority applicants at a severe disadvantage through systemic prejudice in the hiring process."
influence (somebody's) opinion in advance
"The coach's early praise of the new player influenced his opinion before any games were played."
To have a negative impact on (someone's position, chances etc.).
"The heavy rain will prejudice our chances of winning the match."
In plain English: To prejudice someone is to form an unfair opinion about them before you even know anything real about who they are.
"The new policy does not prejudice anyone from receiving their fair share of the budget."
Misspelling of prejudiced.
"The teacher corrected his spelling error, pointing out that he had written prejudice instead of prejudiced."
In plain English: Prejudiced means having an unfair opinion about someone before you even know them well enough to judge fairly.
"The prejudice against people from other countries made it hard for them to find jobs in that area."
The word entered English via the Old French prejudice and originally meant a "previous judgment" or legal damage. It comes from Latin, where it combined prae- (meaning "before") with iūdicium (meaning "judgment").