Definition

1. Noun:
   • A bias or prejudice that prevents impartial judgment: A preconception is a pre-existing opinion or attitude, often unfavorable, that influences how one perceives or evaluates something before having sufficient information.
   • An idea or opinion formed in advance of direct experience or evidence: A preconception is a notion or belief held before encountering the relevant facts or situation.

Usage

• Preconception typically functions as a countable noun.
• It often carries a negative connotation, suggesting an unexamined or unfair bias.
• Common collocations include: "to have a preconception," "to challenge/dispel/preconceptions," "based on preconception."

Examples

• It's important for scientists to approach experiments without preconceptions.
• Her preconception about the city being dangerous was proven wrong after her visit.
• The manager's hiring decision was influenced by an unconscious preconception.
• He tried to set aside his preconceptions and listen to the new idea with an open mind.

Advanced Usage

• "To be colored by preconception": To be influenced or distorted by a pre-existing bias.
  • His analysis of the data was colored by his political preconceptions.
• "To labor under a preconception": To operate while holding a mistaken prior belief.
  • She was laboring under the preconception that all negotiations were adversarial.

Variants and Related Words

• Preconceived (adj): Formed before having the evidence for its truth or usefulness.
  • She entered the meeting with a preconceived notion of what the outcome should be.
• Preconceive (verb): To form a conception or opinion of beforehand.
  • It is difficult not to preconceive the ending of a predictable story.

Synonyms

• Bias: An inclination or prejudice for or against one person or group.
• Prejudice: A preconceived opinion that is not based on reason or actual experience.
• Presupposition: A thing tacitly assumed beforehand at the beginning of a line of argument or course of action.

Antonyms

• Impartiality: Equal treatment of all rivals or disputants; fairness.
• Open-mindedness: Willingness to consider new ideas; unprejudiced.
• Objectivity: The quality of being based on observable phenomena and not influenced by emotions or personal prejudices.

Related Phrases

• Without preconception: In a manner free from prior bias or assumption.
  • The journalist aimed to report on the event without preconception.
• Challenge a preconception: To question or dispute a widely held prior belief.
  • Her research challenged many preconceptions about early childhood development.

Noun

1. a partiality that prevents objective consideration of an issue or situation
2. an opinion formed beforehand without adequate evidence
   • he did not even try to confirm his preconceptions