What does prejudicing mean?
Prejudicing means causing someone or something to be disadvantaged through an opinion formed before the relevant facts or evidence are properly considered. It can apply broadly to influence, unfair treatment, or distortion of judgment, but it is especially frequent in legal and administrative language: to say that an action or statement may prejudice a case means that it could compromise the fairness of the proceedings or the parties' ability to be heard. The word conveys more than merely holding an opinion beforehand. A person may have a personal view without prejudicing anyone; prejudicing occurs when that preconceived view affects the treatment of people, the weighing of evidence, or the course of a decision. The form is the present participle of prejudge and is commonly used with expressions such as 'without prejudicing the outcome.'
verbTo cause harm or disadvantage through a preconceived opinion. In legal contexts, it means to impair the fairness or effectiveness of a case, decision, or proceeding.
- To cause someone to be treated unfairly because of a preconceived opinion.
- To impair the fairness, validity, or effectiveness of a case, decision, or proceeding.
"The judge issued a warning that publication of the statement could prejudice the proceedings."
"Public comments did not prejudice the jury's assessment of the evidence."
"The newspaper denied that its article had prejudiced the investigation."
Prejudicing is what happens when an opinion formed in advance gets the power to distort the evidence.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Where does prejudicing come from?
The word comes from the verb prejudge, which entered Middle English from Old French prejugier. Old French prejugier drew on Latin praejudicium, a compound of prae, 'before,' and judicium, 'judgment,' originally denoting a prior judgment or an advance ruling. Related English words include judicial, from Latin judicialis, and judicious, from Latin judiciousus.
Related word forms
How prejudicing is actually used
The verb is most common in formal and especially legal contexts. It is often used in the construction 'without prejudicing X,' meaning without impairing X or making a decision about X in advance.
Easily confused with prejudicing
Prejudging means forming an opinion before considering the relevant evidence, whereas prejudicing means causing someone or something to be harmed or disadvantaged by a preconceived opinion.