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 Exhibited for the first time outside of Sarajevo, the churning Socialist Realist homage invokes Eugène Delacroix’s Liberty Leading the People in figuring partisans heroically overcoming their would-be Nazi aggressors. — Ara H. Merjian, ARTnews.com, 10 July 2026 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
Recent Examples of Synonyms for partisans
  1. adherents
  2. militants
  3. fanatics
  4. followers
  5. activists
  6. nationalists
  7. disciples
  8. crusaders
Noun
  • Sloganeering was the lingua franca of what adherents referred to as the Stanley Opportunity.
    — Lauren Michele Jackson, New Yorker, 15 July 2026
  • 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
Definition of adherents
Noun
  • Brent crude climbed back above $100 a barrel last week after Houthi militants attacked two Saudi tankers in the Red Sea, deepening a supply threat that had eased before the collapse of the Middle East ceasefire.
    — Anniek Bao,Lim Hui Jie, CNBC, 27 July 2026
  • Three Israelis have been killed in attacks by Palestinian militants in 2026, including the two soldiers Friday.
    — Melanie Lidman, Los Angeles Times, 26 July 2026
Definition of militants
Noun
  • The Northernmost Tree For now, most commercial breadfruit groves are still setting root, leaving the growing to the same type of people who once introduced it to the region — the plant fanatics.
    — Ashley Miznazi, Miami Herald, 24 July 2026
  • Democrats, whose brand is viewed as too left-wing in five out of six Senate-battleground states, should be similarly wary of fanatics trying to infiltrate their ranks.
    — James Kirchick, The Atlantic, 21 July 2026
Definition of fanatics
Noun
  • Smead has amassed a large following online with more than 4,000 followers on Facebook.
    — Kacen Bayless, Kansas City Star, 26 July 2026
  • His followers grew in numbers as did their intrigue about how to acquire said pints.
    — Alicia Wallace, CNN Money, 25 July 2026
Definition of followers
Noun
  • Day laborers and activists came from across Southern California, including San Diego and the Antelope Valley, to discuss the effects of ICE raids on their lives.
    — Itzel Luna, Los Angeles Times, 26 July 2026
  • Students, professionals, families and activists joined rallies in New Delhi and other cities across India.
    — Arkansas Online, Arkansas Online, 26 July 2026
Definition of activists
Noun
  • These concerns first surfaced in 2023 when nationalists, traders, and local activists banded together under the banner of the Jammu Kashmir Joint Awami Action Committee, commonly known as JAAC, to pressure Islamabad for fairer treatment.
    — Hasan Ali, Christian Science Monitor, 26 July 2026
  • The nationalists were members of the Constitutional Convention that met in Philadelphia in the Summer of 1787 to draft the successor to the articles, the United States Constitution.
    — Donovan Fifield, Fortune, 19 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

Browse Nearby Words

partisan
partisans
partisanship
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Cite this Entry

“Partisans.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/partisans. Accessed 2 Aug. 2026.

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