nondiscriminatory

IPA/ˌnɒn.dɪˈskrɪm.ɪ.nə.tər.i/
KK[nˈɑndɪskrˈɪmənətˌɔri]IPA/ˌnɑːn.dɪˈskrɪm.ə.nə.tɔːr.i/

nondiscriminatory — adjective

  • nondiscriminatorypositive
  • more nondiscriminatorycomparative
  • most nondiscriminatorysuperlative

1. describes rules, policies, or behaviour that do not treat people differently or

1.adjectiveB2
Definition

describes rules, policies, or behaviour that do not treat people differently or unfairly because of who they are — their race, gender, age, religion, or other personal background

Example

The university introduced a nondiscriminatory admissions policy for all applicants.

nondiscriminatory + policy (formal/institutional context)

Jabari insisted the interview process be fair and nondiscriminatory.

fair and nondiscriminatory (paired adjectives)

Common collocations
  • nondiscriminatory policy
  • nondiscriminatory practice
  • nondiscriminatory hiring
  • nondiscriminatory admissions
Synonyms
  • fair

    more general and everyday; does not emphasise the background-characteristics aspect

  • equitable

    focuses on fairness of outcomes and distribution, often in legal or economic contexts

  • impartial

    emphasises lack of personal bias or favouritism, especially for a person in authority

  • egalitarian

    a broader social and political outlook that all people deserve equal rights

Antonyms

Grammar Patterns

nondiscriminatory + policy/practice/hiring

be + nondiscriminatory

Usage Note

More formal than 'fair.' Used especially of rules, policies, and institutional practices — not typically of casual one-to-one interactions. The direct opposite is 'discriminatory.'

Common Mistakes

We should nondiscriminatory everyone.
We should treat everyone in a nondiscriminatory way.
'nondiscriminatory' is an adjective, not a verb.

Word family

Synonym discussion

Sense: adjective/1

Nondiscriminatory is the most precise of these words for describing rules and systems that do not disadvantage people based on identity. Fair is the everyday alternative — you can call a game, a price, or a teacher fair, but nondiscriminatory would sound too heavy for those contexts. Equitable goes further than nondiscriminatory: it implies actively adjusting things so everyone ends up with a fair share, not just removing barriers. Impartial is about the mindset of a decision-maker (a judge, a referee) and their freedom from personal bias — it does not, by itself, say anything about the rules they are applying. Egalitarian is a philosophical or political stance about human equality at large, not a description of a single policy. Example: a nondiscriminatory hiring policy removes irrelevant criteria; an equitable one might also actively seek underrepresented applicants.

fair ↗equitable ↗impartial ↗egalitarian ↗

Common collocations

Nouns

  • nondiscriminatory policy
  • nondiscriminatory practice
  • nondiscriminatory hiring
  • nondiscriminatory treatment

Adverbs

  • explicitly nondiscriminatory
  • genuinely nondiscriminatory

Phrases

  • fair and nondiscriminatory

Prepositions

  • nondiscriminatory in
  • nondiscriminatory toward

Etymology

LatinEnglish

Formed from the prefix non- ('not') added to discriminatory, which comes from Latin discriminare ('to divide, to separate'). The word gained prominence in the mid-20th century, particularly in legal and civil-rights language, to describe policies that do not differentiate between people based on protected characteristics.

First known use

1893

1893, in the meaning defined above