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

In addition to tracking a president's popularity, the polls also reveal partisanship and other rapid public opinion moves while a president is in office. —Natalie Neysa Alund, USA Today, 12 Feb. 2026

And when the failure drags on long enough, extreme partisanship rushes in to fill it. —Melissa Derosa, New York Daily News, 11 Feb. 2026

Witters attributed that persistent pessimism to political partisanship. —Jake Angelo, Fortune, 10 Feb. 2026

Political partisans tend to behave in a partisan way—even if that partisanship is disguised as apolitical, Christian living. —Elaine Godfrey, The Atlantic, 10 Feb. 2026

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