as in partial
inclined to favor one side over another
a shamelessly partisan reporter covering the primary campaign
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
variants
also partizan
1
as in adherent
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
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in crusader
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
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
3
as in sectarian
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
Synonyms & Similar Words
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 partisan
Jack Queen, USA Today, 20 Aug. 2025
His career at the DOJ ended with a partisan dispute.
—Kaelan Deese, The Washington Examiner, 19 Aug. 2025
Alexander Puutio, Forbes.com, 8 July 2025
Still, despite all that, 4,000 stiff-upper-lipped partisans showed up in Anaheim over the weekend, seeking solace, inspiration and a winning way forward.
—Mark Z. Barabak, Los Angeles Times, 2 June 2025
See All Example Sentences for partisan
Adjective
Redistricting, where lawmakers redraw electoral maps for partisan advantage, is not uncommon in the U.S. but typically happens after the census every 10 years.
—Jack Queen, USA Today, 20 Aug. 2025
His career at the DOJ ended with a partisan dispute.
—Kaelan Deese, The Washington Examiner, 19 Aug. 2025
Noun
As the climate grows more volatile, even hardened partisans may find their views shifting in the face of unbearable loss.
—Alexander Puutio, Forbes.com, 8 July 2025
Still, despite all that, 4,000 stiff-upper-lipped partisans showed up in Anaheim over the weekend, seeking solace, inspiration and a winning way forward.
—Mark Z. Barabak, Los Angeles Times, 2 June 2025
See All Example Sentences for partisan
Recent Examples of Synonyms for partisan
Adjective
-
This initiates a continuous, adaptive cycle: retrieving data, reasoning over it, taking actions, storing partial outcomes and adjusting future steps.—
Naren Narendran,
Forbes.com,
14 Aug. 2025
-
Peteski also objected to PBR’s partial joinder in support of the TBN and TCT motion.—
Todd Spangler,
Variety,
14 Aug. 2025
Noun
-
The Black Death and its aftermath saw a great resurgence of apocalyptic flagellation, with thousands of adherents flogging themselves up and down the Continent (the movement failed to take off in England, which figures).—
Michael Robbins,
Harpers Magazine,
20 Aug. 2025
-
Primal man is thought to have lived on a range of meat, fish, vegetables, fruits and nuts; according to the adherents of the Paleo diet, these are still the best sources of nutrition for modern man.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
12 June 2025
Noun
-
In many cases, the revelations of his work have led to governmental reckonings and legal ramifications, yet Hersh, now 88 and surrounded by boxes of files from decades of tireless work, sees himself not as a crusader but as a citizen just doing his job.—
Jill Goldsmith,
Deadline,
5 Aug. 2025
-
But in their day, Wolff and Anslinger were crusaders, deadly serious and not about to let facts get in the way of their opinions.—
Wade Davis,
Rolling Stone,
6 Apr. 2025
Noun
-
People want to get rid of religious parties, people want to put sectarians behind to build an Iraq for all Iraqis.—
Foreign Affairs,
Foreign Affairs,
22 May 2015
-
Both sides insist the other initiated the initial volley of gunfire that killed four agents and six sectarians.—
Joshua Alston,
Variety,
12 Apr. 2023
Adjective
-
The climate for filmmakers looking to interrogate the Russian war effort remains hostile.—
Christopher Vourlias,
Variety,
31 Aug. 2025
-
The president’s hostile, but at times confusing, remarks over the last several days have put the city on edge as leaders condemned the plan as unnecessary and dangerous.—
Alice Yin,
Chicago Tribune,
30 Aug. 2025
Noun
-
Salgado mentioned her burgeoning social media presence, which included a TikTok account that as of Aug. 20 had more than 105K followers.—
Jose R. Gonzalez,
AZCentral.com,
22 Aug. 2025
-
Thousands of her followers either left memes or surprised reactions to the star's new look with a large majority of her followers questioning if the whole thing was a joke.—
Michelle Lee,
People.com,
22 Aug. 2025
Noun
-
Some Russian nationalists have reportedly called for the return of Alaska to Russia, experts say.—
Solcyré Burga,
Time,
9 Aug. 2025
-
Instead, the divisive, genocide-denying nationalist laid down his own challenge to the institutions trying to topple him.—
Christian Edwards,
CNN Money,
9 Aug. 2025
Adjective
-
By contrast, Rose of Nevada is much more of an out-and-out genre piece than either, drifting closer to horror than the director ever has before, while retaining his haunting, glitchy, hand-distressed style, the cinematic equivalent of artist Francis Bacon’s distorted face paintings.—
Damon Wise,
Deadline,
30 Aug. 2025
-
To a large extent, this is anchored in America’s distorted and biased metropolitan form—a single metropolitan economy made up of literally hundreds of politically independent governments, especially small suburbs surrounding major central cities.—
Richard McGahey,
Forbes.com,
27 Aug. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Partisan.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/partisan. Accessed 3 Sep. 2025.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share