partisan
/ˈpɑɹ.tɪ.zən/noun, adjective
partisan is spelled P-A-R-T-I-S-A-N: 8 letters and 3 syllables. It appears 6.5 times per million words in written English, the 9,463rd most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a noun, partisan means “An adherent to a party or faction” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The plural of partisan is partisans.
How many letters and syllables are in partisan?
| Letters | 8: P-A-R-T-I-S-A-N |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 3 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | 6.5 times per million words; the 9,463rd most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
| Same letters |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation and the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media); rhymes and same-letter words are computed by PlainSpell from its own word list.
How common is partisan?
Partisan appears 6.5 times per million words in written English, the 9,463rd most frequent word form in the list.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How do you pronounce partisan?
- UK /ˈpɑː.tɪˌzæn/
- UK /ˌpɑː.tɪˈzæn/
- US /ˈpɑɹ.tɪ.zən/
Partisan has 3 syllables (counted from its American pronunciation in the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: En-us-partisan.ogg, En-au-partisan.ogg, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
What rhymes with partisan?
No other word on PlainSpell ends in the same sounds as partisan (/ɑɹtɪzən/).
Spelled with the same letters in another order: aspirant, spartina.
Computed by PlainSpell from the pronunciations in the English Wiktionary (dump of September 2, 2026): a rhyme shares every sound from the last stressed vowel to the end; ordered by written frequency (wordfreq 3.1).
Forms of partisan
- partisans plural
- more partisan comparative
- most partisan superlative
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does partisan mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
noun
- 1
An adherent to a party or faction.
- 2
A fervent, sometimes militant, supporter or proponent of a party, cause, faction, person, or idea.
- 3
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.
- 4
archaicThe commander of a body of detached light troops engaged in making forays and harassing an enemy.
- 5
A long-handled spear with a triangular, double-edged blade having lateral projections, in some forms also used in boar hunting.
- 6
obsoleteA soldier armed with such a weapon.
adjective
- 1
Serving as commander or member of a body of detached light troops.
partisan officer, partisan corps
- 2
Adherent to a party or faction; especially, having the character of blind, passionate, or unreasonable adherence to a party.
They were blinded by partisan zeal.
- 3
Devoted to or biased in support of a party, group, or cause.
partisan politics
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Partisan in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | militant, militante , partisan, partisane , pertuisane |
| Portuguese | partidário , partasana |
| Spanish | partidario , partesana |
| German | Partisan , Partisane |
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.
Where does partisan come from?
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.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).