sesgado

Sesgado is an adjective used in Spanish and Portuguese to describe something biased, slanted, or distorted. It can refer to a person’s viewpoint, a text, a decision, or a dataset that does not aim to be neutral or objective. The feminine form is sesgada, and the plural forms are sesgados (masculine) and sesgadas (feminine).

The term derives from sesgo, meaning bias or tilt; the verb sesgar means to skew or tilt. This semantic relation is preserved across both languages, where sesgado broadly conveys partiality or distortion in representation.

In journalism, a sesgado report may emphasize certain facts or frame issues in a way that misleads readers. In research and statistics, a sesgado sample or estimator yields systematic error and can lead to incorrect conclusions. The concept is widely used in discussions of media bias, political communication, and methodological rigor. Beyond formal contexts, people may describe opinions, interpretations, or cultural portrayals as sesgados when they appear not to reflect reality fairly.

In Portuguese, as in Spanish, sesgado carries a similar range of meanings and is a common term in discussions of bias, framing, and partiality. Related terms include sesgo (bias), sesgar (to skew), and imparcialidad or imparcial (impartial).