partisan

CEFRC1

/ˈpɑː.tɪˌzæn/

noun · adjective

Türkçe translations

Translating…

In plain English

  1. 01

    noun

    A strong supporter of a particular group or cause.

  2. 02

    adjective

    Showing strong support for one group or side.

Examples

  • Partisan politics is getting in the way of necessary finance reform.

  • What does a bike path have to do with partisan politics?

At a glance

Sits at C1 on the CEFR scale

Senses
5
Parts of speech
2
Citations
5
Synonyms
1

Also pronounced

  • /-sən/
  • /-zən/

Deep Dive

noun

Extra meanings

  1. A fervent, sometimes militant, supporter or proponent of a party, cause, faction, person, or idea.

  2. A member of a band of detached light, irregular troops acting behind occupying enemy lines in the ways of harassment or sabotage; a guerrilla fighter.

  3. An adherent to a party or faction.

More examples

In context

  • They were blinded by partisan zeal.

  • partisan officer, partisan corps

  • partisan politics

Synonyms

Quick test

Two questions on this entry. Nothing is scored.

Question 1 · Quick check

The debate turned into a blank fight between the two political groups.

Practise this properly in the app, where the word comes back before you forget it.

Nearby

Origin

noun

From French partisan, from Italian partigiano (“defender of a party”), from parte (“part”). Doublet of partigiano. Attested in English from the late 15th century in the noun sense of "party adherent", and in related adjective senses from the 16th century. The "guerrilla fighter" sense influenced by Serbo-Croatian partizan, Russian партиза́н (partizán), from the same source. The sense of "guerrilla fighter" is from c. 1690. The adjective in the military sense dates from the early 18th century.