Adjacent Words

Unfair definitions

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Webster's 1828 Dictionary

UNFA'IR, a.
1. Not honest; not impartial; disingenuous; using trick or artifice; as an unfair dealer.
2. Not honest; not just; not equal; as unfair practices.
3. Proceeding from trick or dishonesty; as unfair advantages.

WordNet (r) 3.0 (2005)

adj
1: not fair; marked by injustice or partiality or deception; "used unfair methods"; "it was an unfair trial"; "took an unfair advantage" [syn: unfair, unjust] [ant: fair, just]

Merriam Webster's

adjective Date: 1700 1. marked by injustice, partiality, or deception ; unjust 2. not equitable in business dealings • unfairness noun

Oxford Reference Dictionary

adj. 1 not equitable or honest (obtained by unfair means). 2 not impartial or according to the rules (unfair play). Derivatives: unfairly adv. unfairness n. Etymology: OE unfæger (as UN-(1), FAIR(1))

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Unfair Un*fair", v. t. [1st pref. un- + fair.] To deprive of fairness or beauty. [R.] --Shak.

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Unfair Un*fair", a. [AS. unf[ae]ger unlovely. See Un- not, and Fair, a.] Not fair; not honest; not impartial; disingenuous; using or involving trick or artifice; dishonest; unjust; unequal. You come, like an unfair merchant, to charge me with being in your debt. --Swift. -- Un*fair"ly, adv -- Un*fair"ness, n.

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Unfair Un*fair", a. [AS. unf[ae]ger unlovely. See Un- not, and Fair, a.] Not fair; not honest; not impartial; disingenuous; using or involving trick or artifice; dishonest; unjust; unequal. You come, like an unfair merchant, to charge me with being in your debt. --Swift. -- Un*fair"ly, adv -- Un*fair"ness, n.

Collin's Cobuild Dictionary

Frequency: The word is one of the 3000 most common words in English. 1. An unfair action or situation is not right or fair. She was awarded £5,000 in compensation for unfair dismissal... America decided that imported steel had an unfair advantage over steel made at home... It was unfair that he should suffer so much... The union said it was unfair to ask workers to adopt a policy of wage restraint. ADJ: oft it v-link ADJ that/to-inf • unfairly An industrial tribunal has no jurisdiction to decide whether an employee was fairly or unfairly dismissed... He unfairly blamed Frances for the failure. ADV: ADV adj, ADV with v 2. An unfair system or situation does not give equal treatment or equal opportunities to everyone involved. The American plane makers continue to accuse Airbus of unfair competition... Some have been sentenced to long prison terms after unfair trials. ADJ: usu ADJ n • unfairness What about the unfairness of life? Why do bad things happen to good people?

Soule's Dictionary of English Synonyms

a. Unjust, inequitable, partial, dishonest, dishonorable, disingenuous, one-sided, unequal, insincere, uncandid, false, hypocritical, faithless, truthless.