un‧fair S3 / ʌnfeə◂ $ -fer◂ / 形容词

not right or fair, especially because not everyone has an equal opportunity 同义词 unjust :

an unfair advantage

laws aimed at preventing unfair competition

Many employers have recognized that age discrimination is unfair.

She won £20,000 for unfair dismissal (= being illegally made to leave your job ) .

— unfairly 副词 :

Mrs Taylor believes her son has been unfairly treated .

The tribunal decided that Mr Matthews had been unfairly dismissed .

— unfairness 名词 [不可数名词]

COLLOCATIONS

副词

very/most unfair We live in a very unfair world.

totally unfair It’s totally unfair to blame one player when the team doesn’t play well.

extremely/grossly unfair The system was extremely unfair.

a little/slightly unfair ( also a bit unfair British English spoken ) You’re being slightly unfair on him.

blatantly/manifestly/demonstrably unfair (= clearly unfair ) The newspaper called the judge’s ruling ‘blatantly unfair.’

THESAURUS

unfair/not fair not right or fair, especially because not everyone has an equal opportunity : The present welfare system is grossly unfair. | It’s not fair that people are paying different prices for the same tickets.

unjust not fair or right according to the principles of a particular society : He believed it was an illegal and unjust war. | unjust laws

unequal unfair because people are treated in different ways or because some people have more power than others : We live in a deeply unequal society. | the unequal distribution of global resources

inequitable formal unfair because people are treated in different ways, or because some people have more power than others : inequitable tax laws | The system is inequitable, because it makes it possible for rich people to buy a place at university.

biased unfairly against or in favour of a particular group : biased reporting | There were claims that prison bosses were racially biased. | The policy was biased against women. | The trade laws are biased in favour of rich countries.

treating people unfairly because of their race, sex, age etc

prejudiced treating someone unfairly and having an unreasonable dislike of them because of their race, sex etc, or because they are old, disabled etc : The media had very prejudiced attitudes towards disabled people. | I don’t want to sound prejudiced, but I do think women are better at this type of job.

racist treating someone unfairly because of their race : racist remarks | Children pick up racist attitudes from their parents.

sexist treating someone unfairly because of their sex : He had made sexist comments to several women in the office. | The show was about two female inspectors who had trouble with their sexist bosses.

ageist treating someone unfairly because of their age – used especially when old people are unfairly treated : Ageist attitudes result in older people being discriminated against in the workplace.

homophobic treating someone unfairly because they are homosexual : Many of his songs are homophobic.