Meaning & use
nonpartisan
Last updated
Meanings
adjectivebefore a noun
Not supporting or biased toward any particular political party or side.
Grammar: Usually comes before a noun: nonpartisan committee, nonpartisan analysis.
Patterns
- nonpartisan organization
- nonpartisan commission
- nonpartisan report
The league is a nonpartisan group that encourages people to vote.
The judge is expected to be nonpartisan in all her rulings.
They published a nonpartisan analysis of the proposed law.
adjectivebefore a noun
Not based on or influenced by any political party; neutral.
Grammar: Can also be used after a linking verb: The decision was nonpartisan.
Patterns
- nonpartisan decision
- nonpartisan approach
The commission made a nonpartisan decision that pleased both sides.
We need a nonpartisan approach to solving the budget crisis.
Common combinations
- nonpartisan election
- In a nonpartisan election, candidates do not run under a party label.
- nonpartisan commission
- The governor appointed a nonpartisan commission to study the issue.
- nonpartisan organization
- She works for a nonpartisan organization that monitors elections.
- nonpartisan analysis
- The newspaper provided a nonpartisan analysis of the candidates' plans.
Synonyms and how they differ
- neutral
- Neutral means not taking sides in a conflict; nonpartisan specifically means not favoring a political party.
- impartial
- Impartial means fair and not biased; nonpartisan is more specific to politics and parties.
- independent
- Independent can mean not controlled by others, but in politics it often means not belonging to a party; nonpartisan emphasizes lack of party bias.
Opposites
Word family
- partisan adjective
- Strongly supporting a particular party or cause.
- bipartisan adjective
- Involving cooperation between two political parties.
Commonly confused: nonpartisan or bipartisan?
nonpartisan vs bipartisan
Bipartisan means supported by two parties, while nonpartisan means not belonging to or favoring any party.
Practice
Which sentence uses 'nonpartisan' correctly?
Choose one answer.
Nonpartisan means not biased toward any party, so an organization that does not endorse candidates fits. The other options describe favoring one party, which is partisan, not nonpartisan.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “nonpartisan”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.