Fairness — Meaning, Definition & Synonyms

Related Entry: Fair (adjective)

Fair is a different word from Fairness. The synonyms below are for fair, not for fairness.

1. not stormy or cloudy

   "we prayed for fair weather during our vacation at the beach"

   similar: bright, clear, cloudless, sunny, sunshiny, unclouded
   related: balmy, clement, gentle, mild, moderate, temperate, calm, halcyon, peaceful, placid, serene, tranquil, fine, pleasant
   opposite: bleak, cloudy, dirty, foul, nasty, overcast, rainy, raw, rough, squally, stormy, sunless, tempestuous, turbulent
   near: harsh, inclement, severe, blustering, blustery, breezy, gusty, foggy, hazy, misty, murky, soupy

2. marked by justice, honesty, and freedom from bias

   "a commanding officer who enjoyed the respect of his soldiers because his decisions were always fair"

   similar: candid, disinterested, dispassionate, equal, equitable, evenhanded, impartial, indifferent, just, nonpartisan, objective, square, unbiased, unprejudiced
   related: frank, forthright, open, straight, straightforward, balanced, rational, reasonable
   opposite: biased, ex parte, inequitable, nonobjective, one-sided, partial, parti pris, partisan, prejudiced, unjust
   near: deceitful, deceptive, dishonest, arbitrary, unconscionable, unreasonable, jaundiced, unfriendly, unsympathetic, colored, distorted, warped

3. following or according to the rules

   "a hockey player who is respected for his fair play"

   similar: clean, legal, sportsmanlike, sportsmanly
   related: just, law-abiding, ethical, moral, principled, scrupulous, honorable, irreproachable, unimpeachable
   opposite: dirty, foul, nasty, unfair, unsportsmanlike
   near: immoral, unethical, unprincipled, unrighteous, unscrupulous, vicious, wrong

4. of light complexion

   "fair people tend to sunburn easily"

   similar: light
   related: ashen, ashy, pale, paled, palish, pallid, pasty, peaked, peaky, sallow, sallowish, wan, white
   opposite: black, brunet, dark, swart, swarthy

5. having qualities which inspire hope

   "as long as the team keeps playing as hard as they can, they have a fair chance of winning—no matter what the scoreboard says"

   similar: auspicious, bright, encouraging, golden, heartening, hopeful, likely, optimistic, promising, propitious, rose-colored, roseate, rosy, upbeat
   related: cheering, comforting, reassuring, soothing, assured, confident, decisive, doubtless, positive, sure, unhesitating, beamish, bullish, eupeptic, favorable, good
   opposite: bleak, dark, depressing, desperate, discouraging, disheartening, dismal, downbeat, dreary, gloomy, hopeless, inauspicious, pessimistic, unencouraging, unlikely, unpromising, unpropitious
   near: cheerless, comfortless, doubtful, dubious, uncertain, bearish, grim, negative, unfavorable, funereal, glum, gray, miserable, wretched

6. of a pale yellow or yellowish brown color

   "the abundance of people with fair hair in Scandinavia"

   similar: blond, flaxen, golden, sandy, straw, tawny
   related: ocherous, ash-blond, blondish, strawberry blonde, towheaded, gold, light, white
   near: black-a-vised, brown, brunet, dark, olive, swart, swarthy, black, ebony, raven

7. of average to below average quality

   "for what they charged us, the painters should have done better than a fair job of painting the house"

   similar: common, indifferent, mediocre, medium, middling, ordinary, passable, run-of-the-mill, run-of-the-mine, second-class, second-rate, so-so
   related: acceptable, adequate, all right, alright, decent, OK, reasonable, satisfactory, sufficient, sufficing, tolerable, moderate, modest, presentable, respectable, minimal, unexceptional, fine, good, nice
   near: A1, capital, choice, classic, distinguished, excellent, exceptional, exquisite, fabulous, fantastic, first-class, first-rate, grand, great, marvelous, matchless, maximum, nifty, number one, optimal, optimum, outstanding, par excellence, peerless, preeminent, prime, sensational, special, splendid, stellar, sterling, superb, superior, superlative, supreme, swell, terrific, tip-top, top, top-notch, unmatched, unparalleled, unsurpassed, deficient, inadequate, insufficient, lacking, unacceptable, unsatisfactory, wanting

8. very pleasing to look at

   "generally considered the fairest girl in town, she had no lack of boyfriends"

   similar: aesthetic, attractive, beauteous, beautiful, bonny (chiefly British), comely, cute, drop-dead, fetching, good, good-looking, goodly, gorgeous, handsome, knockout, likely, lovely, lovesome, pretty, ravishing, seemly, sightly, stunning, taking, well-favored
   related: alluring, appealing, charming, cunning, delightful, engaging, fascinating, glamorous, prepossessing, elegant, exquisite, glorious, Junoesque, magnificent, resplendent, splendid, statuesque, sublime, superb, flawless, perfect, radiant, dainty, delicate, personable, pleasant, presentable, chocolate-box, prettyish, desirable, dishy, dollish, foxy, hot, luscious, nubile, pulchritudinous, seductive, sexy, toothsome, hunky, studly (slang), arresting, eye-catching, flamboyant, flashy, glossy, showstopping, showy, slick, snazzy, splashy, striking, zingy, photogenic, telegenic
   opposite: grotesque, hideous, homely, ill-favored, plain, ugly, unaesthetic, unattractive, unbeautiful, uncomely, uncute, unhandsome, unlovely, unpleasing, unpretty, unsightly
   near: abhorrent, abominable, bad, disagreeable, disgusting, dreadful, foul, frightful, ghastly, horrible, loathsome, nasty, nauseating, objectionable, offensive, repellent, repugnant, repulsive, revolting, shocking, sickening, terrible, vile, unappealing, unappetizing, unimposing, unpleasant, unprepossessing, frumpish, frumpy, unbecoming, unshapely

9. having no exceptions or restrictions

   "it would take a fair miracle for that project to be finished on time"

   similar: absolute, all-out, arrant, blank, blooming (chiefly British), bodacious (Southern & Midland), categorical, clean, complete, consummate, crashing, damn, damned, dead, deadly, definite, downright, dreadful, flat, flat-out, out-and-out, outright, perfect, plumb, profound, pure, rank, regular, sheer, simple, stark, stone, straight-out, thorough, thoroughgoing, total, unadulterated, unalloyed, unconditional, unmitigated, unqualified, utter, very
   related: authentic, classic, genuine, real, veritable, constant, endless, eternal, perpetual, undying, unremitting, extreme, unrestricted, confirmed, habitual, hopeless, inveterate, extraordinary, frightful, horrible, huge, main, superlative, supreme, surpassing, terrible, terrific
   near: doubtful, dubious, equivocal, qualified, questionable, restricted, uncertain

10. being what is called for by accepted standards of right and wrong

    "most thought his dismissal was fair since he had been given many chances to clean up his act"

    similar: competent, condign, deserved, due, just, justified, merited, right, rightful, warranted
    related: applicable, appropriate, apt, fit, fitting, meet, proper, requisite, suitable, lawful, legal, legitimate, accurate, correct, true, rhadamanthine, strict, stringent, uncompromising, equitable, impartial, square
    opposite: undeserved, undue, unfair, unjust, unjustified, unmerited, unwarranted
    near: incoherent, incorrect, irrelative, irrelevant, improper, inapplicable, inapposite, inappropriate, inapt, indefensible, unjustifiable, unreasonable, unsuitable, biased, inequitable, partial, unequal, arbitrary, despotic, illegitimate, unlawful

11. free from dirt or stain

    "a handwritten thank-you letter requires nothing less than a sheet of fair white paper"

    similar: antiseptic, chaste, clean, immaculate, pristine, spick-and-span, spotless, squeaky-clean, stainless, unsoiled, unstained, unsullied
    related: pure, taintless, undefiled, unpolluted, untainted, wholesome, cleanly, germfree, hygienic, sanitary, sterile, abluted, bleached, cleansed, purified, scrubbed, washed, whitened, milky, snowy, white, flawless, unblemished, bright, shiny, sparkling
    opposite: besmirched, dirty, filthy, foul, grubby, smirched, soiled, spotted, stained, sullied, unclean, uncleaned
    near: dingy, greasy, grimy, mucky, muddy, unwashed, defiled, germy, polluted, tainted, unsterile, unsterilized, blackened, discolored