What does evenhandedness mean?
Evenhandedness is the quality of treating everyone fairly and impartially, without favouring one person, group, or viewpoint over another. Derived from the adjective 'evenhanded', which combines 'even' in its older sense of 'equal' with 'hand', it describes the steadiness of judgment expected of judges, referees, mediators, journalists, and leaders. The word is most at home in formal contexts such as legal commentary, political reporting, and workplace evaluations, where it often appears in phrases like 'praised for her evenhandedness'. Its connotations are entirely positive: to call someone evenhanded is to credit them with integrity and balance, especially when decisions are difficult or emotions run high. Its natural opposites are bias, partiality, and favoritism. Closely related forms include the adjective 'evenhanded' and the adverb 'evenhandedly'. Because disputes over fairness arise in nearly every area of public life, evenhandedness remains a valued and frequently invoked ideal in modern English.
nounThe quality of being fair and impartial; treating all parties or sides equally without favouritism or prejudice.
- Impartiality or fairness in the treatment of people or issues, without favouring any side.
"The judge was admired for her evenhandedness in cases that attracted intense public attention."
"Journalists praised the referee's evenhandedness throughout the contentious tournament."
"Her evenhandedness as a manager earned her the trust of both senior staff and new hires."
Essentially uncountable in modern usage; a plural is grammatically possible but rarely seen outside unusual stylistic contexts.
"The book compared the evenhandednesses of different arbitration systems."
The 'even' in evenhandedness isn't about smoothness — it's an old sense meaning 'equal', so an evenhanded person literally keeps both hands level.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Etymology of evenhandedness
Evenhandedness derives from the adjective 'evenhanded', formed within English from 'even', used in its older sense of 'equal' or 'level', combined with 'hand'. The metaphor is physical: hands held level rather than tilted toward one side, suggesting balanced treatment of competing parties. The adjective dates back several centuries, and the abstract noun was formed from it with the suffix '-ness'. The components are thoroughly Germanic: 'even' traces back through Old English 'efen' to Proto-Germanic origins, and 'hand' likewise comes from Old English, giving the whole formation a native English pedigree rather than a Latin or French one.
Related word forms
How evenhandedness is actually used
Formal to neutral register, common in journalism, law, politics, and workplace writing. The word is typically uncountable and carries a strongly positive connotation. Both 'evenhandedness' and the hyphenated 'even-handedness' are accepted spellings; the closed form is more common in American English.
Easily confused with evenhandedness
Handedness refers to a person's preference for using one hand over the other (e.g. left- or right-handed), whereas evenhandedness means impartiality and fairness.