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
Anthony LewisThe 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
Jon GrinspanExamples 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
Latino politicians, ironically, have matured to the point of being like other politicians: more focused on power and partisanship than on solving the problems of a community that has been clear about its priorities for decades.
—Mike Madrid, The Mercury News, 7 Mar. 2025
The Trump administration’s purges are, in one way, fulfillments of long-standing political projects: the old aims of small-government conservatism, updated for the age of slash-and-burn partisanship.
—Megan Garber, The Atlantic, 27 Feb. 2025
Americans’ degree of religious engagement is also closely tied to their partisanship.
—Jennifer Agiesta, CNN, 26 Feb. 2025
From the late 1850s to the end of the 19th century, partisanship more clearly drove many statehood debates.
—Geoffrey Skelley, ABC News, 26 Feb. 2025
See All Example Sentences for partisanship
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Mike Madrid, The Mercury News, 7 Mar. 2025
The Trump administration’s purges are, in one way, fulfillments of long-standing political projects: the old aims of small-government conservatism, updated for the age of slash-and-burn partisanship.
—Megan Garber, The Atlantic, 27 Feb. 2025
Americans’ degree of religious engagement is also closely tied to their partisanship.
—Jennifer Agiesta, CNN, 26 Feb. 2025
From the late 1850s to the end of the 19th century, partisanship more clearly drove many statehood debates.
—Geoffrey Skelley, ABC News, 26 Feb. 2025
See All Example Sentences for partisanship
Cite this Entry
“Partisanship.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/partisanship. Accessed 13 Mar. 2025.
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