Meaning & use
partisan
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Meanings
nouncountable
A strong, often uncritical supporter of a party, cause, or person.
Grammar: Countable; often followed by 'of' or 'in'.
Patterns
- a partisan of something
- a partisan in a conflict
He is a partisan of the ruling party.
The partisans fought for their cause.
adjectivenot comparable
Strongly biased in favor of one party, group, or cause.
Grammar: Used before a noun; not usually compared.
Patterns
- partisan politics
- partisan support
The debate became highly partisan.
She took a partisan stance on the issue.
Word forms
| plural | partisans |
|---|
Common combinations
- partisan politics
- Partisan politics often slows down progress.
- partisan support
- The bill received partisan support.
- a partisan of
- He is a partisan of free trade.
Synonyms and how they differ
- supporter
- General; does not imply uncritical loyalty.
- biased
- Adjective; focuses on unfairness, not loyalty.
Opposites
Word family
- partisanship noun
- The quality of being partisan.
- partisanism noun
- Rare; same as partisanship.
Commonly confused: partisan or partisan?
partisan vs partisan
As a noun, a supporter; as an adjective, biased. Context tells you which.
Practice
The debate was so ______ that no one listened to the other side.
Choose one answer.
'Partisan' is the adjective meaning strongly biased. 'Partisanship' is a noun, and 'partisanly' is not a common word.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “partisan”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.