partisanship

noun

par·​ti·​san·​ship ˈpär-tə-zən-ˌship 

-sən-,

-ˌzan-,

 chiefly British  ˌpär-tə-ˈzan-

: the quality or state of being partisan : strong and sometimes blind adherence to a particular party, faction, cause, or person

political partisanship

The Court is so riven by partisanship that justices even pick their law clerks in ways influenced by ideology …

—Anthony Lewis

The succession of Civil War, Reconstruction and the Gilded Age was marked by bitter partisanship, endemic corruption, appalling violence and a general sense that democracy was failing.

—Jon Grinspan

Synonyms of partisanship

• bias
• prejudice
• tendentiousness
• partiality

Examples of partisanship in a Sentence

partisanship can discourage any serious search for the truth

there's a pervasive partisanship in the company that prevents it from acknowledging that other companies are outpacing it with innovative ideas

Recent Examples on the Web

But, increasingly, events that should appall and unite America against violence instead fuel an intensifying partisanship. —John Archibald, New Yorker, 30 Oct. 2025

Carving up Kansas City Missouri’s review of the map was based on racial and partisanship data from the 2020 presidential election. —Kacen Bayless, Kansas City Star, 29 Oct. 2025

In a time of deep partisanship, back-stabbing, dysfunction, and slim margins in Congress, Republican women have turned to each other for support both personally and legislatively. —Lauren Green, The Washington Examiner, 26 Oct. 2025

The establishment of the commission was a wise move designed to take partisanship out of the drawing of boundaries for governmental bodies within the state. —Daniel Borenstein, Mercury News, 26 Oct. 2025

Word History

First Known Use

1798, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for partisanship

• apostleship
• apprenticeship
• assistantship
• championship
• chancellorship
• citizenship
• companionship
• copartnership
• dictatorship
• directorship
• discipleship
• editorship