variants:
or less commonly partizan
Definition of partisan
(Entry 1 of 3)
1
: a firm adherent to a party, faction, cause, or person
especially
: one exhibiting blind, prejudiced, and unreasoning allegiance
political partisans who see only one side of the problem
2a
: a member of a body of detached light troops making forays and harassing an enemy
Peasant partisans assaulted the French army.
b
: a member of a guerrilla band operating within enemy lines
Polish partisans had blown up two trains — Springfield (Massachusetts) Union
partisan
adjectiveDefinition of partisan (Entry 2 of 3)
1
: feeling, showing, or deriving from strong and sometimes blind adherence to a particular party, faction, cause, or person : exhibiting, characterized by, or resulting from partisanship
partisan politics partisan loyalty Secularism is indeed correlated with greater tolerance of gay marriage and pot legalization. But it's also making America's partisan clashes more brutal.— Peter Beinart The editorial page of the newspaper captured the mood of an America frustrated by partisan division …— Joseph Cress The modern Democratic party may honor the cerebral Jefferson as one of its founders, but the true paternity lies with the fiercely partisan Jackson. He made it a fighting electoral force.— Bernard A. Weisberger
2
: of, carried on by, or being military partisans
partisan fighters partisan warfare
partisan
noun (2)
variants:
or partizan
Definition of partisan (Entry 3 of 3)
: a weapon of the 16th and 17th centuries with long shaft and broad blade
Test Your Vocabulary
Which Word Does Not Belong?
-
- Which of these words does not mean "nonsense"?

Can you spell these 10 commonly misspelled words?
TAKE THE QUIZ
A daily challenge for crossword fanatics.
TAKE THE QUIZLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share partisan
Time Traveler for partisan
The first known use of partisan was in 1542
See more words from the same year