partisan 1 of 2

Definition of partisannext

partisan

2 of 2

noun

variants also partizan
1
2
3
as in sectarian
one who stubbornly or intolerantly adheres to his or her own opinions and prejudices she's too much of a political partisan to ever concede that the other side might have a valid point

Synonyms & Similar Words

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

Synonym Chooser

How is the word partisan different from other nouns like it?

Some common synonyms of partisan are adherent, disciple, and follower. While all these words mean "one who gives full loyalty and support to another," partisan suggests a zealous often prejudiced attachment.

partisans of the President

When could adherent be used to replace partisan?

The synonyms adherent and partisan are sometimes interchangeable, but adherent suggests a close and persistent attachment.

adherents to Marxism

When might disciple be a better fit than partisan?

While the synonyms disciple and partisan are close in meaning, disciple implies a devoted allegiance to the teachings of one chosen as a master.

disciples of Gandhi

When can follower be used instead of partisan?

Although the words follower and partisan have much in common, follower may apply to people who attach themselves either to the person or beliefs of another.

an evangelist and his followers

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of partisan
Adjective
The law made Indiana the 10th state to allow partisan affiliations in school board races. Carole Carlson, Chicago Tribune, 21 June 2026 Now more than 80 years old, the San Diego County Taxpayers Association is a nonprofit, non-partisan government watchdog organization. Jeff McDonald, San Diego Union-Tribune, 21 June 2026
Noun
The mood this time was understandably less buoyant among the Knicks partisans. The New Yorker, New Yorker, 9 June 2026 But there's also a dynamic here where the partisans on each side justify themselves by looking at the bad examples on the other side. ABC News, 7 June 2026 See All Example Sentences for partisan
Recent Examples of Synonyms for partisan
Adjective
  • Panic inside buildings Videos circulating on social media showed people rushing out of buildings in the capital, while some users reported partial collapses and damage to structures.
    Antonio María Delgado, Miami Herald, 25 June 2026
  • The blaze ignited Wednesday at the nearly 500,000-square-foot cold storage facility run by a company called Lineage, beginning on the roof, which caused a partial collapse and moved the flames into the building, where 85 million pounds of food are stored.
    Noah Goldberg, Los Angeles Times, 24 June 2026
Noun
  • Many today argue that those who flooded into the nation’s legislative hall were the true adherents of American patriotism.
    Dr. Matthew Warshauer, Hartford Courant, 17 June 2026
  • Physics Universal Love Language, the second album by Syrian-Armenian-American singer Káryyn, is tuned to 432hz, a standard that is, according to new age adherents, more in line with the hum of the universe.
    Alex Robert Ross, Pitchfork, 15 June 2026
Noun
  • Pakistani Taliban militants and other armed groups also operate in the region.
    ABC News, ABC News, 22 June 2026
  • Sullivan and Sodais watched together as the militants seized Herat.
    Tess Kenny, Chicago Tribune, 21 June 2026
Noun
  • The Iraqi prime minister at the time, Nuri al-Maliki, was a Shiite sectarian with close ties to Iran, and many of his fellow Shia thought he could be relied on to listen to Iran’s wishes and find a way to avoid clashing with an Iranian proxy militia.
    Graeme Wood, The Atlantic, 2 Sep. 2025
  • Both sides insist the other initiated the initial volley of gunfire that killed four agents and six sectarians.
    Joshua Alston, Variety, 12 Apr. 2023
Adjective
  • The complaint alleges that school officials at Southern Hills Middle School failed to stop two years of antisemitic harassment against an eighth grader even after investigations concluded the student faced a hostile environment.
    Robert McGreevy, FOXNews.com, 23 June 2026
  • Create an internal incident map and begin tagging hostile actions according to the DISARM taxonomy.
    Alona Karpinska, Forbes.com, 23 June 2026
Noun
  • While Fed followers see Warsh’s task forces as an ambitious campaign to reevaluate nearly every part of the Fed’s policy-setting process, the harsh language the chairman previously used to describe the Fed was largely absent from his remarks last week.
    Alex Harring, CNBC, 22 June 2026
  • With over 9,000 followers on Instagram, owners Jones and his wife Ana curated a strong social media presence that created a steady stream of familiar shoppers.
    Delia Rose Sauer, Miami Herald, 22 June 2026
Noun
  • Saba masquerades like a CEF crusader whose mission is to eliminate any and every CEF discount.
    Brett Owens, Forbes.com, 25 June 2026
  • The book is full of stories of villains, like the venomous heroin that took so many of Seattle’s crusaders as well as the music industry that never quite understood where Soundgarden belonged.
    Selena Fragassi, SPIN, 9 June 2026
Noun
  • The group at the center of the feud, the UPA, was founded by nationalists loyal to Ukrainian nationalist leader Stepan Bandera.
    Brady Knox, The Washington Examiner, 20 June 2026
  • As the 1956 Suez Crisis helped crystallize an alliance between Arab nationalists and the Soviet Union, this anti-Zionist ideology took root in the Middle East.
    Adam Louis-Klein, The Atlantic, 18 June 2026

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Cite this Entry

“Partisan.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/partisan. Accessed 29 Jun. 2026.

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