par·ti·san
ˈpär-tə-zən 
-sən
-sən
-ˌzan,
chiefly British ˌpär-tə-ˈzan
variants
or less commonly partizan
1
: a firm adherent to a party, faction, cause, or person
especially
: one exhibiting blind, prejudiced, and unreasoning allegiance
political partisans who see only one side of the problem
2
a
: a member of a body of detached light troops making forays and harassing an enemy
Peasant partisans assaulted the French army.
b
: a member of a guerrilla band operating within enemy lines
Polish partisans had blown up two trains—
Springfield (Massachusetts) Union
Springfield (Massachusetts) Union1
: feeling, showing, or deriving from strong and sometimes blind adherence to a particular party, faction, cause, or person : exhibiting, characterized by, or resulting from partisanship
partisan politics
partisan loyalty
Secularism is indeed correlated with greater tolerance of gay marriage and pot legalization. But it's also making America's partisan clashes more brutal.—Peter Beinart
Peter BeinartThe editorial page of the newspaper captured the mood of an America frustrated by partisan division …—Joseph Cress
Joseph CressThe modern Democratic party may honor the cerebral Jefferson as one of its founders, but the true paternity lies with the fiercely partisan Jackson. He made it a fighting electoral force.—Bernard A. Weisberger
Bernard A. Weisberger2
: of, carried on by, or being military partisans
partisan fighters
partisan warfare
par·ti·san
ˈpär-tə-zən
-sən
variants
or partizan
: a weapon of the 16th and 17th centuries with long shaft and broad blade
Did you know?
Partisan and Politics
A partisan is someone who supports one part or party. Sometimes the support takes the form of military action, as when guerrilla fighters take on government forces. But partisan is actually most often used as an adjective, usually referring to support of a political party. so if you're accused of being too partisan, or of practicing partisan politics, it means you're mainly interested in boosting your own party and attacking the other one.
Synonyms
Examples of partisan in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the WebDavid Lauter, Los Angeles Times, 27 Apr. 2024
More recently, those efforts have shifted to exploiting existing partisan divides in the U.S.
—Shannon Bond, NPR, 26 Apr. 2024
Here’s a closer look at all of the amendments:
School Board Elections
Amendment 1 proposes that the state bring back partisan school board elections on or after November 2026.
—Alyssa Johnson, Miami Herald, 25 Apr. 2024
Lewis said the organization will take people to the polls no matter their partisan affiliation.
—Alison Dirr, Journal Sentinel, 25 Apr. 2024
Our initial guess is partisan polls overestimate support for the allied candidate by 2 percentage points, but this effect will shrink (or grow) if the data reveals a different answer.
—G. Elliott Morris, ABC News, 25 Apr. 2024
Regardless of who is president at the time, this is a lot of authority to grant to one partisan authority.
—Charlie Warzel, The Atlantic, 24 Apr. 2024
While presidents can try to bully the Fed publicly, its officials typically avoid any appearance of bowing to partisan whims.
—Jeanna Smialek, New York Times, 24 Apr. 2024
If Mitchell can’t return to the Capitol, Democrats may have trouble passing partisan legislation between now and the end of session later next month.
—Alex Derosier, Twin Cities, 22 Apr. 2024
Dean Minnich, Baltimore Sun, 10 Feb. 2024
In this day and age, losing our institutions to woke partisans seems par for the course, and markets appear to have decided that the Fed is lost as well.
—Kevin A. Hassett, National Review, 19 Jan. 2024
After the inauguration, Bolsonaro partisans had launched a chaotic assault on the Presidential palace, Congress, and the Supreme Court, and some police and members of the military had assisted the mob.
—Jon Lee Anderson, The New Yorker, 1 Apr. 2024
Here’s one example — too many journalists have become partisans and appear perfectly comfortable misrepresenting facts to advance a narrative.
—Byron Harlan, San Diego Union-Tribune, 29 Mar. 2024
As politicians and partisans debate how to make sure Social Security — an historically amazing and important program for the aging — has a secure financial future, one topic regularly brought up is the idea of delaying the retirement age.
—Erik Sherman, Forbes, 26 Mar. 2024
For experts in museum ethics, LACMA’s handling of the situation — which partisans see as a proxy battle in a larger war over evolving ideas of power at the nexus of art, justice and globalism — is unsurprising yet unfortunate.
—Gary Baum, The Hollywood Reporter, 15 Feb. 2024
Of course, partisans see things differently on the issue front.
—Dana Blanton, Fox News, 14 Feb. 2024
But as political attitudes begin to coincide with moral convictions, partisans increasingly view each other as immoral.
—Phillip McGarry, The Conversation, 1 Feb. 2024
Adjective
Some exceptions exist: Ross Perot received just under 19% in 1992 — the high point for an independent — but that came in an era when partisan loyalties were much weaker than today.
—David Lauter, Los Angeles Times, 27 Apr. 2024
More recently, those efforts have shifted to exploiting existing partisan divides in the U.S.
—Shannon Bond, NPR, 26 Apr. 2024
Here’s a closer look at all of the amendments:
School Board Elections
Amendment 1 proposes that the state bring back partisan school board elections on or after November 2026.
—Alyssa Johnson, Miami Herald, 25 Apr. 2024
Lewis said the organization will take people to the polls no matter their partisan affiliation.
—Alison Dirr, Journal Sentinel, 25 Apr. 2024
Our initial guess is partisan polls overestimate support for the allied candidate by 2 percentage points, but this effect will shrink (or grow) if the data reveals a different answer.
—G. Elliott Morris, ABC News, 25 Apr. 2024
Regardless of who is president at the time, this is a lot of authority to grant to one partisan authority.
—Charlie Warzel, The Atlantic, 24 Apr. 2024
While presidents can try to bully the Fed publicly, its officials typically avoid any appearance of bowing to partisan whims.
—Jeanna Smialek, New York Times, 24 Apr. 2024
If Mitchell can’t return to the Capitol, Democrats may have trouble passing partisan legislation between now and the end of session later next month.
—Alex Derosier, Twin Cities, 22 Apr. 2024
Noun
Another is to salt the audience with partisans who talk out loud, make rude noises when the opposition is talking and even go so far as to intimidate anyone sitting nearby who supports the opposition.
—Dean Minnich, Baltimore Sun, 10 Feb. 2024
In this day and age, losing our institutions to woke partisans seems par for the course, and markets appear to have decided that the Fed is lost as well.
—Kevin A. Hassett, National Review, 19 Jan. 2024
After the inauguration, Bolsonaro partisans had launched a chaotic assault on the Presidential palace, Congress, and the Supreme Court, and some police and members of the military had assisted the mob.
—Jon Lee Anderson, The New Yorker, 1 Apr. 2024
Here’s one example — too many journalists have become partisans and appear perfectly comfortable misrepresenting facts to advance a narrative.
—Byron Harlan, San Diego Union-Tribune, 29 Mar. 2024
As politicians and partisans debate how to make sure Social Security — an historically amazing and important program for the aging — has a secure financial future, one topic regularly brought up is the idea of delaying the retirement age.
—Erik Sherman, Forbes, 26 Mar. 2024
For experts in museum ethics, LACMA’s handling of the situation — which partisans see as a proxy battle in a larger war over evolving ideas of power at the nexus of art, justice and globalism — is unsurprising yet unfortunate.
—Gary Baum, The Hollywood Reporter, 15 Feb. 2024
Of course, partisans see things differently on the issue front.
—Dana Blanton, Fox News, 14 Feb. 2024
But as political attitudes begin to coincide with moral convictions, partisans increasingly view each other as immoral.
—Phillip McGarry, The Conversation, 1 Feb. 2024
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'partisan.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Dictionary Entries Near partisan
Cite this Entry
“Partisan.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/partisan. Accessed 1 May. 2024.
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