not right or fair according to a set of rules or principles; not treating people equally synonym unjust unfair criticism unfair (on/to somebody) It seems unfair on him to make him pay for everything. It would be unfair not to let you have a choice. They had been given an unfair advantage. unfair dismissal (= a situation in which somebody is illegally dismissed from their job) measures to prevent unfair competition between member countries Life seems so unfair sometimes. It's so unfair! opposite fair Oxford Collocations Dictionary verbsbe, seem, consider something, … adverbextremely, fairly, very, … prepositionto See full entry Word OriginOld English unfæger ‘not beautiful’ (from un- and the adjective fair).Extra examples I thought the decision was grossly unfair. She thought it most unfair that girls were not allowed to take part. I don’t want to be unfair on anyone … I don’t want to be unfair to anyone, so you’ll all get an equal chance. Most of his criticisms were grossly unfair. She sued the company for unfair dismissal. The new laws are designed to prevent unfair competition between member countries. The other team had definitely been given an unfair advantage.
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