prejudice, adverse or hostile attitude toward a group or its individual members, generally without just grounds or before sufficient evidence. It is characterized by irrational, stereotyped beliefs. In the social sciences, the term is often used with reference to ethnic groups (see also racism), but prejudice can exist toward any manner of person or group on the basis of factors that have nothing at all to do with ethnicity, such as weight, disability, sexual orientation, or religious affiliation.