welfare state
noun
1
: a social system based on the assumption by a political state of primary responsibility for the individual and social welfare of its citizens
2
: a nation or state characterized by the operation of the welfare state system
Examples of welfare state in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
But that will undermine growth, strain public finances, and erode Europe’s capacity to fund its prized welfare state.
—
Jonathan Portes, Time, 29 Oct. 2025
The socialist appeared to agree with the iconic free-market economist Milton Friedman that unregulated immigration was incompatible with a welfare state, but for opposite reasons.
—W. James Antle Iii, The Washington Examiner, 28 Oct. 2025
Many European governments, reflecting the preferences of their citizens, chose safety and security — in the form of a bigger welfare state and higher taxes — in exchange for less growth.
—Allison Schrager, Boston Herald, 25 Oct. 2025
More generally, Europeans' personal happiness levels have seemingly gravitated away from church and children, the traditional sources of meaning, and toward a discomfiting positive correlation with the size of a nation's welfare state.
—MSNBC Newsweek, 24 Oct. 2025
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Jonathan Portes, Time, 29 Oct. 2025
The socialist appeared to agree with the iconic free-market economist Milton Friedman that unregulated immigration was incompatible with a welfare state, but for opposite reasons.
—W. James Antle Iii, The Washington Examiner, 28 Oct. 2025
Many European governments, reflecting the preferences of their citizens, chose safety and security — in the form of a bigger welfare state and higher taxes — in exchange for less growth.
—Allison Schrager, Boston Herald, 25 Oct. 2025
More generally, Europeans' personal happiness levels have seemingly gravitated away from church and children, the traditional sources of meaning, and toward a discomfiting positive correlation with the size of a nation's welfare state.
—MSNBC Newsweek, 24 Oct. 2025
See All Example Sentences for welfare state
Cite this Entry
“Welfare state.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/welfare%20state. Accessed 11 Nov. 2025.
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