partisanship

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UK/ˌpɑːtɪˈzænʃɪp/UK/ˈpɑːtɪˌzænʃɪp/Canada, US/ˈpɑɹtəzənˌʃɪp/Canada, US[ˈpɑɹɾəzənˌʃɪp]

noun

An inclination to be partisan or biased; partiality.

Similar
partisanrypartiality
OriginProto-Germanic *skapjaną ← English partisan →
Less commonScrabble 19
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Word of the Day · Jan 14, 2025

Meanings

nounpartisanship (countable and uncountable, plural partisanships)

plural partisanships · alternative dated partizanship

  1. countableuncountableAn inclination to be partisan or biased; partiality.

    In this moment of constant campaigning and tribal partisanship, even the courts have had difficulty puncturing the ideological bubbles that Mr. Trump and Fox News pundits have created.

    2023 April 1, Jonathan Weisman, “Trump and Fox News, Twin Titans of Politics, Hit With Back-to-Back Rebukes”, in The New York Times, →ISSN
    1 more example

    We focus on how partisanship and race influence sentencing decisions. Partisanship has been shown to shape many political and social decisions (Iyengar et al. 2019) while racial disparities in sentencing are well-documented (United States Sentencing Commission 2023).

    2025, James N. Druckman et al., Unequal Punishment?: Partisan and Racial Biases in Criminal Sentencing, archived from the original on 13 Feb 2026, page 2

    Synonyms: partisanry

Synonyms & antonyms

nounAn inclination to be partisan or biased; partiality.

Similar
partisanry

More synonyms by meaning

nounan inclination to favor one group or view or opinion over alternatives

Similar
partiality
Broader
inclinationdispositiontendency
Also see
partialitypartisanryprejudicetendentiousness

Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.

Origin

  1. Englishpartisan
  2. Proto-Germanic*skapjaną
  3. Englishpartisanship

From partisan + -ship.

Full word history & related roots →

Translations

Bulgarian пристрасност
  • пристрасност (pristrasnost)an inclination to be partisan
Catalan partidisme
  • partidismean inclination to be partisan
Czech stranictví, přívrženectví
  • stranictvían inclination to be partisan
  • přívrženectvían inclination to be partisan
Dutch partijdigheid
  • partijdigheidan inclination to be partisan
Finnish puolueellisuus
  • puolueellisuusan inclination to be partisan
French partisanisme, esprit de parti
  • partisanismean inclination to be partisan
  • esprit de partian inclination to be partisan
  • partialitéan inclination to be partisan
German Parteinahme, Parteiergreifung
  • Parteinahmean inclination to be partisan
  • Parteiergreifungan inclination to be partisan
  • Parteilichkeitan inclination to be partisan
Greek κομματισμός
  • κομματισμός (kommatismós)an inclination to be partisan
Hindi पक्षपातपूर्ण
  • पक्षपातपूर्ण (pakṣapātpūrṇ)an inclination to be partisan
Italian partigianeria
  • partigianeriaan inclination to be partisan
Polish stronniczość
  • stronniczośćan inclination to be partisan
Portuguese partidarismo, partidismo
  • partidarismoan inclination to be partisan
  • partidismoan inclination to be partisan
Russian парти́йность, полити́ческие симпа́тии
  • парти́йность (partíjnostʹ)an inclination to be partisan
  • полити́ческие симпа́тии (politíčeskije simpátii)an inclination to be partisan
Spanish partidismo
  • partidismoan inclination to be partisan
Cite this entry
APA

partisanship. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/partisanship

MLA

“partisanship.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/partisanship. Accessed November 2, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “partisanship,” accessed November 2, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/partisanship.

Source: partisanship on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.