bipartisan

adjective

bi·par·ti·san (ˌ)bī-ˈpär-tə-zən

-sən

-ˌzan,

chiefly British ˌbī-ˌpä-tə-ˈzan

Synonyms of bipartisan next

: of, relating to, or involving members of two parties

a bipartisan commission

specifically : marked by or involving cooperation, agreement, and compromise between two major political parties

bipartisan support for the bill

bipartisanism

(ˌ)bī-ˈpär-tə-zə-ˌni-zəm

-sə-

noun

bipartisanship

(ˌ)bī-ˈpär-tə-zən-ˌship

-sən-

noun

Did you know?

Bipartisan is a two-part word. The first element is the prefix bi-, which means "two"; the second is partisan, a word that traces through Middle French and north Italian dialect to the Latin part- or pars, meaning "part." Partisan itself has a long history as a word in English. It has been used as a noun in reference to a firm adherent to a party, faction, or cause (especially one exhibiting blind, prejudiced, and unreasoning allegiance), since the 16th century. The related adjective (meaning "of, relating to, or characteristic of a partisan") appeared in the 19th century, as did, after a space of some 50 years, the adjective bipartisan.

Examples of bipartisan in a Sentence

In his first Inaugural Address, Jefferson sounded a conciliatory, bipartisan note, averring that "we are all Republicans, we are all Federalists"—a trope copied in many inaugural addresses to follow. —

Sean Wilentz, Newsweek, 27 Jan. 2009

Seasoned observers of Washington tend to dismiss such talk of national unity and bipartisan cooperation as meaningless political boilerplate … —

Larissa MacFarquhar, New Yorker, 7 May 2007

Two recent national bipartisan blue-ribbon panels, the National Research Council Committee on Preventing Reading Difficulties in Young Children and the National Reading Panel, came to converging conclusions. —

Bennet A. Shawitz, New Republic, 6 Nov. 2000

The bill has bipartisan support.

Recent Examples on the Web

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Those drugs are not widely covered by either program, but there’s some bipartisan support in Congress to change that. —

Aleccia Washington, Twin Cities, 15 Nov. 2024 There is broad, bipartisan support among voters for mail-in and early voting, along with other protections such as voter list maintenance and audits, Olson said. —

Tribune News Service, The Mercury News, 12 Nov. 2024 And the House passed its transparency bill, which included PBM reporting requirements, with a bipartisan 320–71 vote. —

Peter Sullivan, Axios, 5 Nov. 2024 According to the bipartisan National Conference of State Legislatures, voter names, addresses, party affiliations and voting history are public information. —

Jill Cassidy, The Arizona Republic, 5 Nov. 2024 See all Example Sentences for bipartisan