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Definition of bias : 1. A leaning of the mind; propensity or prepossession toward an object or view, not leaving the mind indifferent; bent; inclination.
2. A slant; a diagonal; as, to cut cloth on the bias.
3. A wedge- shaped piece of cloth taken out of a garment ( as the waist of a dress) to diminish its circumference.
4. A weight on the side of the ball used in the game of bowls, or a tendency imparted to the ball, which turns it from a straight line.
5. Cut slanting or diagonally, as cloth.
6. In a slanting manner; crosswise; obliquely; diagonally; as, to cut cloth bias.
7. Inclined to one side; swelled on one side.
8. To incline to one side; to give a particular direction to; to influence; to prejudice; to prepossess.

Synonyms:

separatrix, slanting, diverge, warp, incline, predetermine, submit, twine, partiality, twist, beveled, mold, one-sidedness, biased, slanted, preconceived idea, cast, curve, like, crook, slash, solidus, squint, tendentiousness, oblique, stroke, virgule, yield, diagonal, deviate, bend, straight, persuade, stoop, parti pris, bow, preconception, preconceived notion, partisanship, approach, preconceived opinion, turn, prepossession, deflect

preference, study at prejudice

deviousness, deviation, indirection, slant, slope, angularity

seniority, master, empower, affect, authority, influence, command, supremacy, pull, predominance, prejudice, power, lead, sway, mastery, rank, authorize, rule, motivate, pressure, predominate, motivation, importance, control

misestimation, overestimation, underestimation, misjudgment, miscalculation

grain, predilection, proclivity, bent, penchant, trend, propensity, course, aptness, predisposition, tenor, direction, inclination, affinity, disposition, temperament, proneness, tendency, polarity, leaning

Usage examples:

• But even an insignificant unit of a constitutional country, with perhaps something of a slight personal bias in the direction of democracy, could not allay a thrill of lively anticipation of what the day would bring forth.
• Tom and Archer were quite free from that narrow bias. - "Tom Slade with the Boys Over There", Percy K. Fitzhugh.
• I have first to say, therefore, that if I have had a bias, it was always a bias in favour of democracy, and therefore of tradition. - "Orthodoxy", G. K. Chesterton.