socialist

noun so·cial·ist \ ˈsō-sh(ə-)list \

Definition of socialist

1 : one who advocates or practices socialism

2 capitalized : a member of a party or political group advocating socialism

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socialist

adjective, often capitalized

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socialistic

play \ˌsō-shə-ˈli-stik\ adjective

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socialistically

play \ˌsō-shə-ˈli-sti-k(ə-)lē\ adverb

See socialist defined for English-language learners

Examples of socialist in a Sentence

a lifelong socialist who never lost faith in his cause

Recent Examples of socialist from the Web

With Kerensky’s help, Lvov formed a new coalition government to quell the unrest in Saint Petersburg and appointed socialists to ministries.

— carolyn harris, Smithsonian, "In a Czar-less Russia, Winning Was Easy. Governing Was Harder.," 13 Apr. 2017
After long voting reliably with the socialists, Guarenas went with the opposition two years ago as Venezuela’s crisis deepened.

— Washington Post, "In gritty city outside Caracas, the story of a socialist win," 21 Oct. 2017
Poland’s post-communist socialists have all but disappeared in the last three elections to be replaced by competition between an urban liberal party and a rural conservative one.

— john o'sullivan, National Review, "The Misunderstood Nature of Populism," 14 Oct. 2017
The upshot was that despite the clear desire of the masses and the complete bankruptcy of the Provisional Government, many even quite radical socialists still felt obligated to support it.

— david sessions, New Republic, "The Radical Hopes of the Russian Revolution," 20 Sep. 2017
In 1912, Kerensky was elected to the Duma as a member of the Trudovik party, a moderate labor party affiliated with the socialists.

— carolyn harris, Smithsonian, "In a Czar-less Russia, Winning Was Easy. Governing Was Harder.," 13 Apr. 2017
Accusations that the socialists cooked the books gained traction when the voting services firm Smartmatic, which provided software and machines, said the regime’s numbers were overstated by at least a million votes.

— andrew rosati, Bloomberg.com, "Venezuela’s Opposition Cornered as Elections Slip Out of Reach," 18 Oct. 2017
In February 1917, Czar Nicholas II abdicated in favor of a provisional government headed by the liberal Alexander Kerensky and consisting of progressives, socialists and the more moderate Communists.

— strobe talbott, New York Times, "Stalin, Hitler and the Temptations of Totalitarianism," 18 Oct. 2017
French socialists went from being the governing party to getting 7 percent of the total vote in the recent elections.

— john o'sullivan, National Review, "The Misunderstood Nature of Populism," 14 Oct. 2017

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'socialist.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.