What does favoritism mean?
Favoritism refers to the practice of showing unfair preferential treatment to one person or group over others, usually by someone holding authority — a manager promoting a friend regardless of merit, a teacher grading a favored student leniently, or an official steering benefits toward allies. The word is invariably critical in tone: unlike a simple preference, which is a harmless liking, favoritism implies bias that violates fairness and often damages morale or trust. It appears constantly in discussions of workplaces, schools, sports officiating, and politics, frequently alongside related terms such as bias, partiality, and nepotism, the last of which denotes favoritism directed specifically at relatives. Derived from 'favor,' which traces back through Old French to the Latin word for goodwill or approval, the term has long served as shorthand for the abuse of privileged position. Its near-universal applicability makes it a staple of both everyday complaint and formal ethics policy.
nounThe practice of giving unfair preferential treatment to one person or group, especially in employment, politics, or other competitive settings, at the expense of others.
- Unfair preferential treatment of one person or group over others, typically by someone in a position of authority.
- A specific instance or manifestation of such partiality (e.g., favoritism toward a particular employee or student).
"Employees complained that the manager's favoritism toward his own relatives made promotions meaningless."
"Teachers who play favorites risk breeding resentment in the classroom, so most schools have policies against favoritism."
"The referee was accused of favoritism after overlooking two obvious fouls by the home team."
Favoritism is overwhelmingly used as a mass noun, and the plural 'favoritisms' is rare; writers should normally avoid it.
"The report catalogued numerous favoritisms committed by the previous administration."
The word 'favoritism' grew out of 'favor' — and even its cousin 'favorite' once carried a whiff of scandal, since royal 'favourites' at court were notorious for receiving unearned power.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Etymology of favoritism
'Favoritism' derives from 'favor,' which entered English from Old French and ultimately stems from Latin 'favor,' meaning goodwill, approval, or partial support. The related word 'favorite' arose in the sixteenth century, popularized by powerful royal favourites at European courts who received unmerited advancement — a context that colored the whole word family with associations of undue privilege. The derivative term 'favoritism' took shape around the seventeenth century as a name for the practice itself, and it remains closely tied to cognates such as 'favorable' and 'disfavor.'
Related word forms
How favoritism is actually used
'Favoritism' is almost always negative in connotation, implying an abuse of trust or authority; neutral liking is better expressed as 'preference.' It is chiefly used as a mass noun, so a plural form is rare. The spelling 'favouritism' is standard in British English.
Easily confused with favoritism
Nepotism is specifically favoritism shown to relatives, whereas favoritism is the broader practice of unfairly preferring anyone, related or not.
A preference is a neutral liking or choice, while favoritism carries the negative implication of unjust or biased preferential treatment.