partisanship

noun

par·​ti·​san·​ship ˈpär-tə-zən-ˌship How to pronounce partisanship (audio)
-sən-
-ˌzan-
chiefly British ˌpär-tə-ˈzan-
Synonyms of partisanshipnext
: 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

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
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.
In an era of peak partisanship at the national level, Connecticut lawmakers on both sides of the aisle have for years agreed that the state’s approval process for major hospital transactions — like mergers and acquisitions — needed a major overhaul. Katy Golvala, Hartford Courant, 16 May 2026 Those could be explicit requirements for a map to appear to be fair by certain statistical measures of partisanship. Isaac Chotiner, New Yorker, 15 May 2026 Jazil on Friday argued that plaintiffs were definitively saying the map was crafted with partisanship in mind despite scant evidence. Miami Herald, 15 May 2026 Analysts also note that the survey can be distorted by partisanship. Eva Roytburg, Fortune, 10 May 2026 See All Example Sentences for partisanship

Word History

First Known Use

1798, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of partisanship was in 1798

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Cite this Entry

“Partisanship.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/partisanship. Accessed 21 May. 2026.

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