partisan

The word “partisan” means a strong, often unquestioning supporter of a party, cause, or leader. In plain terms, someone (or something) strongly loyal to one side of a political or ideological divide.

“Partisan” is pronounced PAH-tih-zan (/ˈpɑɹ.tɪ.zən/ in IPA).

Here is “partisan” used in a sentence: “The rally was full of partisans waving flags for their candidate.”

Depending on how it is used, “partisan” can be a noun and an adjective.

The word “partisan” comes from Italian. From Italian partigiano, "defender of a party," from parte, "part.".

“Partisan” is an uncommon word in modern English, usually learned at around the B2 level.

“Partisan” has 3 distinct senses listed in this dictionary. The most common is: a strong, often unquestioning supporter of a party, cause, or leader.

Partisan describes strong bias in favour of one party, side, or cause, often at the expense of fairness or compromise. Bipartisan means involving cooperation between two opposing parties, the near opposite of partisan behaviour.

Partisan often carries a negative connotation when describing excessive or unquestioning bias that ignores other viewpoints, especially in politics. However, it can be used neutrally simply to describe someone's party allegiance without implying criticism.

Historically, a partisan was a guerrilla fighter operating behind enemy lines, especially during wartime, distinct from its modern political sense of a strong party supporter. This wartime meaning is still used in historical writing about resistance movements.