SINCE 1828

An Encyclopædia Britannica Company

state socialism

noun

Updated on: 5 May 2018

Definition of state socialism

: an economic system with limited socialist characteristics that is effected by gradual state action and typically includes public ownership of major industries and remedial measures to benefit the working class

Recent Examples of state socialism from the Web

Herbert Hoover, who could justifiably campaign as a progressive Republican, pigeonholed Smith as an advocate of state socialism (the same epithet that a spiteful Smith would hurl at Roosevelt in 1936).

— sam roberts, New York Times, "Trailblazers in Politics and Civil Rights," 19 Apr. 2018
Yet since the country cast off state socialism in the 1980s, crony capitalists have come to control the Communist Party.

— alice han and, WSJ, "China’s Awkward Debt Problem," 7 July 2017

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

First Known Use of state socialism

1851

in the meaning defined above

See Words from the same year

NEW! Time Traveler

Seen and Heard

What made you want to look up state socialism? Please tell us where you read or heard it (including the quote, if possible).

show

WORD OF THE DAY

garrulous

play

talkative or wordy

BROWSE DICTIONARY

Statesider

statesman

state socialism

state socialist

state-socialist

Test Your Vocabulary

Words Used by Nabokov Quiz

Choose the best definition or synonym for the word in bold: "There are some eructations that sound like cheers—at least, mine did." Lolita

How Strong Is Your Vocabulary?

Test your vocabulary with our 10-question quiz!

TAKE THE QUIZ

SCRABBLE® Sprint

Test Your Knowledge - and learn some interesting things along the way.

TAKE THE QUIZ

Words at Play

12 Words from All Over the Map

Some words say exactly where they're from

alt-5b032d1aef0e9

'Ingenious' and 'Ingenuous': More Than a Typo

One's clever, the other's like a child

alt-5b0310daaafde

A Matter-of-Fact Look at 'Deadpan'

Surely we can be serious.

9 Words from the Magical Realm

When language is magic

Ask the Editors

video-ghost-words

Ghost Word

The story of an imaginary word that managed to sneak past our editors and enter the dictionary.

2017 Word of the Year: Behind the Scenes

How we chose 'feminism'

video-literally

Literally

How to use a word that (literally) drives some people nuts.

video-his-or-her

Is Singular 'They' a Better Choice?

The awkward case of 'his or her'

Word Games

Words Used by Nabokov Quiz

How familiar are you with Nabokov’s unfamiliar vocabulary?

Take the quiz

cow-coming-home

Farm Idioms Quiz

Not your children's farm quiz.

Take the quiz

How Strong Is Your Vocabulary?

How Strong Is Your Vocabulary?

Test your vocabulary with our 10-question quiz!

Take the quiz

SCRABBLE® Sprint

SCRABBLE® Sprint

SCRABBLE® fans, sharpen your skills!

Play the game