partisans

noun

variants also partizans
plural of partisan
1
as in adherents
one who follows the opinions or teachings of another partisans of the charismatic leader refuse to tolerate any criticism of him at all

Synonyms & Similar Words

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in militants
one who is intensely or excessively devoted to a cause a partisan of the revolution who was even willing to give her life for it

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
3
as in sectarians
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

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms

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 partisans Reynolds tracks the willingness of northern partisans—Carl Schurz, Horace Greeley, Lyman Trumbull, and even Sumner himself—to abandon that cause by the dwindling references to Jamestown and Plymouth. — James Traub, The Atlantic, 28 June 2026 Meanwhile, partisans continued to spar over dozens of Republican bills that would allow voters to lower property taxes for homeowners by raising sales taxes on everyone. — David Wickert, AJC.com, 23 June 2026 The mood was jovial, and any banter between the English and Croatian partisans was playful. — Matthew Adams, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 17 June 2026 His lone goal delighted the Swiss partisans, who were banished to the second level of the stadium. — Dieter Kurtenbach, Mercury News, 13 June 2026 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 With a large pack of Democrats running and just two serious Republican contenders, Democratic partisans feared their fractured vote would let the GOP nab both spots in Tuesday’s top-two primary. — Los Angeles Times, 3 June 2026 Tribalism renders too many partisans unable to think ahead more than one election. — Washington Post Editorial Board, Twin Cities, 29 May 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for partisans
  1. adherents
  2. militants
  3. fanatics
  4. followers
  5. activists
  6. nationalists
  7. disciples
  8. crusaders
Noun
  • Baric worked closely with researchers at the Wuhan Institute of Virology, which many adherents to the lab-leak theory posit as the source of the pandemic; one contingent thinks that Baric might have been the creator of the SARS-CoV-2 virus.
    — Daniel Engber, The Atlantic, 7 July 2026
  • Many liberals had been disciplined to adopt methods that purported to strictly confine legal interpretation, only to discover that their most prominent adherents, whether covertly or unconsciously, had other plans.
    — Jeannie Suk Gersen, New Yorker, 2 July 2026
Definition of adherents
Noun
  • In that environment, Hezbollah emerged from a network of Shiite Islamist militants, making its dramatic entry into the war by attacking an Israel military base in 1982.
    — Anthony Wanis-St John, The Conversation, 10 July 2026
  • Following military coups, the juntas in the three countries turned from Western allies to Russia for help combating Islamic militants.
    — ABC News, ABC News, 10 July 2026
Definition of militants
Noun
  • For more than 40 years, the festival that began in 1979 drew an attendance of around 100,000 every year, with foodies, garlic fanatics and famous chefs coming from around the world.
    — Linda Zavoral, Mercury News, 13 July 2026
  • Because movies like both Rise and this new one are what make discerning horror fanatics cynical and ruin a franchise’s good name.
    — David Fear, Rolling Stone, 10 July 2026
Definition of fanatics
Noun
  • Before the Spain fixture, Vozinha had around 50,000 followers on Instagram, but that has since rocketed to 28 million.
    — Tom Burrows, New York Times, 12 July 2026
  • That’s not unusual among followers of Shia Islam, whose tradition is one of outward displays of faith.
    — Frederik Pleitgen, CNN Money, 11 July 2026
Definition of followers
Noun
  • In recent years, thanks to the work of scholars, artists, and local activists, public awareness of the violence of 1898 has increased.
    — Lauren Collins, New Yorker, 3 July 2026
  • Soon after Kushner announced his project, environmental activists began objecting to its potential ecological implications.
    — Max Grinstein, The Washington Examiner, 3 July 2026
Definition of activists
Noun
  • The story draws on archaeologists, travelers, and Icelandic nationalists.
    — Amelia Soth, JSTOR Daily, 15 July 2026
  • Right-wing nationalists exist here, but haven’t made as many inroads as in Germany, France or Britain.
    — Nicholas D. Kristof, Mercury News, 14 July 2026
Definition of nationalists
Noun
  • Back in his coaching career, Cruyff was one of the first managers to be obsessed with the cut of the pitch — a trait that has passed over to his disciples, most notably the exacting Pep Guardiola.
    — Jacob Whitehead, New York Times, 25 June 2026
  • Christian Science teaches that the divine laws of Truth and Life, as demonstrated by Jesus and his disciples, continue to operate today as an eternal, demonstrable Science.
    — Alistair Budd, Christian Science Monitor, 24 June 2026
Definition of disciples
Noun
  • 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
  • The facility remains popular among anti-immigrant crusaders, and Attorney General Uthmeier’s campaign store sells Alligator Alcatraz bumper stickers, T-shirts, and caps.
    — Eric Schlosser, The Atlantic, 4 June 2026
Definition of crusaders

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partisans
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Cite this Entry

“Partisans.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/partisans. Accessed 19 Jul. 2026.

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