The chairman claimed to be unbiased. (unbiased: impartial, objective, neutral) His niece was a finalist, but he would categorically reject any suggestion of partiality. (categorically: absolutely, unconditionally, unequivocally; partiality: preference, fondness, liking) His fellow judge handed him two slices marked with different numbers. One he called exceptional and the other ordinary. The niece had baked both.
Was he partial to his niece? (partial: favorably disposed, well-disposed, biased in favor) Or had the first slice, with its chewy crust, prejudiced him in favor of the whole loaf? (prejudiced: biased, partial, prepossessed) The second judge asked him to spell out his reasoning. Family ties might predispose him to praise her, yet a lifelong predisposition toward a chewy crust could also skew his score. (predispose: incline, dispose, make susceptible; predisposition: inclination, tendency, propensity; skew: distort, bias, slant)
They gave each judge an end and a middle slice. His niece placed second. When the chairman praised the winner his niece concurred. She had been trying to get a crust like that for weeks.