fair 1
— fairness , n.
/fair/ , adj., fairer, fairest , adv., fairer, fairest , n. , v.
adj.
1. free from bias, dishonesty, or injustice: a fair decision; a fair judge.
2. legitimately sought, pursued, done, given, etc.; proper under the rules: a fair fight.
3. moderately large; ample: a fair income.
4. neither excellent nor poor; moderately or tolerably good: fair health.
5. marked by favoring conditions; likely; promising: in a fair way to succeed.
6. Meteorol.
a. (of the sky) bright; sunny; cloudless to half-cloudy.
b. (of the weather) fine; with no prospect of rain, snow, or hail; not stormy.
7. Naut. (of a wind or tide) tending to aid the progress of a vessel.
8. unobstructed; not blocked up: The way was fair for our advance.
9. without irregularity or unevenness: a fair surface.
10. free from blemish, imperfection, or anything that impairs the appearance, quality, or character: Her fair reputation was ruined by gossip.
11. easy to read; clear: fair handwriting.
12. of a light hue; not dark: fair skin.
13. pleasing in appearance; attractive: a fair young maiden.
14. seemingly good or sincere but not really so: The suitor beguiled his mistress with fair speeches.
15. courteous; civil: fair words.
16. Med. (of a patient's condition) having stable and normal vital signs and other favorable indicators, as appetite and mobility, but being in some discomfort and having the possibility of a worsening state.
17. Dial. scarcely; barely: It was just fair daylight when we started working.
18. fair to middling , Informal. only tolerably good; so-so.
adv.
19. in a fair manner: He doesn't play fair.
20. straight; directly, as in aiming or hitting: He threw the ball fair to the goal.
21. favorably; auspiciously.
22. Brit. , Australian. entirely; completely; quite: It happened so quickly that it fair took my breath away.
23. bid fair , to seem likely: This entry bids fair to win first prize.
24. fair and square ,
a. honestly; justly; straightforwardly: He won the race fair and square.
b. honest; just; straightforward: He was admired for being fair and square in all his dealings.
n.
25. Archaic. something that is fair.
26. Archaic.
a. a woman.
b. a beloved woman.
v.t.
27. to make the connection or junction of (surfaces) smooth and even.
28. Shipbuilding.
a. to draw and adjust (the lines of a hull being designed) to produce regular surfaces of the correct form.
b. to adjust the form of (a frame or templet) in accordance with a design, or cause it to conform to the general form of a hull.
c. to restore (a bent plate or structural member) to its original form.
d. to align (the frames of a vessel under construction) in proper position.
29. to bring (rivet holes in connecting structural members) into perfect alignment.
30. Obs. to make fair.
v.i.
31. fair off or up , South Midland and Southern U.S. (of the weather) to clear: It's supposed to fair off toward evening.
[ bef. 900; ME; OE faeger; c. OS, OHG fagar, ON fagr, Goth fagrs ]
Syn. 1. FAIR, IMPARTIAL, DISINTERESTED, UNPREJUDICED refer to lack of bias in opinions, judgments, etc. FAIR implies the treating of all sides alike, justly and equitably: a fair compromise. IMPARTIAL, like FAIR, implies showing no more favor to one side than another, but suggests particularly a judicial consideration of a case: an impartial judge. DISINTERESTED implies a fairness arising particularly from lack of desire to obtain a selfish advantage: The motives of her guardian were entirely disinterested.
UNPREJUDICED means not influenced or swayed by bias, or by prejudice caused by irrelevant considerations: an unprejudiced decision. 4. passable, tolerable, average, middling. 8. open, clear, unencumbered. 10. clean, spotless, pure, untarnished, unsullied, unstained. 11. legible, distinct. 12. blond, pale. 13. pretty, comely, lovely. 15. polite, gracious.
fair 2
/fair/ , n.
1. an exhibition, usually competitive, of farm products, livestock, etc., often combined in the U.S. with entertainment and held annually by a county or state.
2. a periodic gathering of buyers and sellers in an appointed place.
3. an exposition in which different exhibitors participate, sometimes with the purpose of buying or selling: a science fair.
4. an exhibition and sale of articles to raise money, often for some charitable purpose.
[ 1300-50; ME feire feria religious festival, holiday (ML: market), in L only pl.; akin to FEAST ]