partisanship

/ˈpɑrtəzənˌʃɪp/

Other forms: partisanships

Your partisanship is your tendency to support a particular group, cause, or viewpoint over another.

While partisanship is a good quality to have if you're campaigning or rallying for a political candidate — because you believe so strongly in the person — there are some times when partisanship isn't appropriate. A judge, for example, should be neutral and not take sides, and might be accused of partisanship if she seems to favor one cause or political party. The word comes from the early Italian partezan or partigiano, "member of a faction," with its root of parte, "part or party."

Definitions of partisanship

1. noun

   an inclination to favor one group or view or opinion over alternatives
   synonyms: partiality

   types:

   anthropocentricity, anthropocentrism

   an inclination to evaluate reality exclusively in terms of human values

   ethnocentrism

   belief in the superiority of one's own ethnic group

   Eurocentrism

   belief in the preeminence of Europe and the Europeans

   bias, preconception, prejudice

   a partiality that prevents objective consideration of an issue or situation

   tilt

   a slight but noticeable partiality

   localism, provincialism, sectionalism

   a partiality for some particular place

   unfairness

   partiality that is not fair or equitable

   taboo, tabu

   a prejudice (especially in Polynesia and other South Pacific islands) that prohibits the use or mention of something because of its sacred nature

   irrational hostility

   extreme prejudice

   experimenter bias

   (psychology) bias introduced by an experimenter whose expectations about the outcome of the experiment can be subtly communicated to the participants in the experiment

   homophobia

   prejudice against (fear or dislike of) homosexual people and homosexuality

   Islamophobia

   prejudice against Muslims

   racism

   the prejudice that members of one race are intrinsically superior to members of other races

   tendentiousness

   an intentional and controversial bias

   type of:

   disposition, inclination, tendency

   an attitude of mind especially one that favors one alternative over others