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fair

adjective · noun · verb · adverb

Simple meaning

Unblemished; clean and pure.

Pronunciation

Say it like this:

fehr
US device voice
IPA pronunciation (US)

ˈfɛɹ

This word is pronounced essentially the same in American and British English, so one transcription covers both.

IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) is a standard way of writing speech sounds.

Word Review

Definition

Everyday modern meanings first, grouped by part of speech.

adjective

  1. Unblemished (figuratively or literally); clean and pure; innocent.

  2. Light in color, pale, particularly with regard to skin tone but also referring to blond and red hair.

  3. Adequate, reasonable, or decent, but not excellent.

  4. Free from favoritism or self-interest or bias or deception; conforming with established standards or rules

  5. Favorable, pleasant.

  6. Not overcast; cloudless; clear.

noun

  1. An event for professionals in a trade to learn of new products and do business, a trade fair.

  2. A community gathering to celebrate and exhibit local achievements.

  3. An event for public entertainment and trade, a market.

  4. A travelling amusement park (called a funfair in British English and a (travelling) carnival in US English).

  5. Acronym of Federation for American Immigration Reform.

  6. Something which is fair (in various senses of the adjective).

verb

  1. transitive

    To smoothen or even a surface (especially a connection or junction on a surface).

  2. transitive

    To bring into perfect alignment (especially about rivet holes when connecting structural members).

  3. intransitiveof weather

    To become fair (favorable, not stormy).

  4. transitive

    To construct or design with the aim of producing a smooth outline or reducing air drag or water resistance.

  5. 1929, James Frank Dobie, A Vaquero of the Brush Country, page 88

  6. 1992 05, Wallace O. Chariton, Charlie Eckhardt, Kevin Young, Unsolved Texas Mysteries, Taylor Trade Publications, →ISBN, page 205

adverb

  1. Clearly, openly, frankly, civilly, honestly, favorably, auspiciously, agreeably.

  2. ireland

    Almost; to a great extent but not literally.

Word at a Glance

Difficulty
A2 · Elementary
Frequency
Very Common
Typical Use
Varies by meaning

Word Aura™

How this word commonly comes across.

Aura for this meaning

This meaning: Unblemished (figuratively or literally); clean and pure; innocent.

Used this way, fair is a reasonably familiar word that usually carries little praise or criticism of its own. It usually sounds natural in a wide range of settings.

Emotional tone
Neutral
Formality
Neutral
Intensity
Not strongly marked
How common
Moderately common
Connotation
No strong connotation
Usage feel
Neutral and straightforward

Word Aura describes common impressions, not a measurement. Tone changes with sentence, speaker, relationship and situation.

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Common Patterns and Combinations

How this word naturally appears with others.

fair valuefair trialfair tradefair chancefair dealingfair weatherfair marketfair amount

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Word Family

Related forms, grouped by how they connect.

Word family

Words built from the same root.

  • fairynounDerived noun

    A small being, human in form, playful and having magical powers.

  • fairnessnounDerived noun

    Conformity with rules or standards.

  • fairlyadverbDerived adverb

    To certain extent or degree.

Compound terms

Established multiword terms.

  • fair sexnounCompound term

    Women as a class.

  • fair tradenounCompound term

    Trade that satisfies certain criteria on the supply chain of the goods involved, usually including fair payment for producers.

  • fair-trade actnounCompound term

    Formerly a state law that protected manufacturers from price-cutting by allowing them to set minimum retail prices for their merchandise.

  • fair-trade agreementnounCompound term

    An agreement (illegal in the United States) between the manufacturer of a trademarked item of merchandise and its retail distributors to sell the item at a price at or above the price set…

  • fair usenounCompound term

    The conditions under which you can use material that is copyrighted by someone else without paying royalties.

  • fair weathernounCompound term

    Moderate weather.

More about this wordSynonyms, forms, origin

Synonyms

Sense: unblemished (figuratively or literally)

legible

Antonyms

Sense: unblemished (figuratively or literally)

unfair

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Dictionary data from Wiktionary via the Free Dictionary API. Simple meanings, combinations and word intelligence are built from verified reference data, no AI is used to load this page.