partisanship

noun

par·​ti·​san·​ship ˈpär-tə-zən-ˌship 

-sən-,

-ˌzan-,

 chiefly British  ˌpär-tə-ˈzan-

: 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

Synonyms

• bias
• favor
• nonobjectivity
• one-sidedness
• parti pris
• partiality
• ply
• prejudice
• tendentiousness

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

Exactly half of these complaints concerned allegations of pro-Israel or anti-Palestine bias, while the other half accused the BBC of partisanship in the opposite direction. —Jake Kanter, Deadline, 20 June 2024

Readers will recall that bipartisan immigration reform legislation collapsed earlier this year in the face of Republican opposition — a truly regrettable act of partisanship encouraged by former President Donald Trump, who sees the issue through self-serving tunnel vision. —Baltimore Sun Editorial Board, Baltimore Sun, 19 June 2024

The media environment in the United States is a constantly shifting crazy-quilt landscape of authority, irresponsibility, partisanship, objectivity, heroism, corruption, and competition. —Oliver Darcy, CNN, 11 June 2024

The rise of partisanship parallels the growth of social media, with the technology that promised to bring us together mostly driving us apart. —Zach Iscol, New York Daily News, 27 May 2024

Word History

First Known Use

1798, in the meaning defined above