discriminatory
Americanadjective
-
characterized by or showing prejudicial treatment, especially as an indication of bias related to age, race, skin color, national origin, religion, sex, gender, etc..
Discriminatory practices in housing historically led to racially segregated neighborhoods.
They passed a discriminatory tax mainly impacting immigrants to the country.
adjective
-
based on or showing prejudice; biased
-
capable of making fine distinctions
-
(of a statistical test) unbiased
Other Word Forms
- discriminatorily adverb
- nondiscriminatory adjective
- undiscriminatory adjective
Etymology
Origin of discriminatory
First recorded in 1820–30; discriminate + -ory 1
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Illinois prohibits using AI in hiring decisions with discriminatory outcomes—a reasonable goal—but defines AI so broadly that nearly any recommendation system, including statistical methods that go back centuries, may be implicated.
From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 20, 2026
County said in a statement none of the reviews of the fire response has found “any discriminatory or structural bias in the County’s response.”
From Los Angeles Times • Mar. 14, 2026
The organisation maintains that the policy is "unfair and discriminatory" and that the decision reflects "a fundamental misunderstanding of Freemasonry as it is today".
From BBC • Feb. 24, 2026
Beijing accused the European Union on Wednesday of taking "discriminatory" measures after the bloc opened an investigation into Chinese clean energy giant Goldwind over concerns the firm unfairly benefitted from state subsidies.
From Barron's • Feb. 4, 2026
Under the regulations, a federally funded law enforcement program or activity is unlawful if it has a racially discriminatory impact and if that impact cannot be justified by law enforcement necessity.
From "The New Jim Crow" by Michelle Alexander
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
