weighted

Having extra heavy material added to make something heavier or keep it in place.

• She sleeps under a weighted blanket.
• The lamp has a weighted base for stability.
• He wore a weighted vest during training.

Opposites: unweighted

Common phrases: weighted blanket, weighted vest, weighted base

Arranged so that one person or group has an unfair advantage.

• The rules are weighted against beginners.
• The system is heavily weighted towards wealthy applicants.
• They complained that the competition was weighted in his favour.

How to use it: weighted against someone/something (The selection process is weighted against smaller firms.); weighted towards someone/something (The rules are weighted towards experienced players.); weighted in someone’s favour (The system is weighted in the owner’s favour.)

Similar words: biased, one-sided

Opposites: fair, impartial

Common phrases: weighted against someone, weighted towards someone, heavily weighted

Having numbers assigned to the connections between points in a mathematical diagram.

• The program builds a weighted graph.
• Each connection in the weighted network represents a travel cost.
• We used a weighted graph to find the cheapest route.

Opposites: unweighted

Common phrases: weighted graph, weighted network

Containing much more of one type of thing than of other types.

• The portfolio is weighted towards technology stocks.
• Her investments are heavily weighted with government bonds.
• The reading list is weighted towards modern novels.

How to use it: weighted towards something (The fund is weighted towards energy companies.); weighted with something (The portfolio is heavily weighted with foreign shares.)

Common phrases: weighted towards something, weighted with something, heavily weighted