welfare state

noun

|Updated on: 10 Jun 2018

Examples: welfare state in a Sentence

Definition of welfare state

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

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Examples of welfare state in a Sentence

supporters of the welfare state

Recent Examples of welfare state from the Web

The problem with the Bush administration, by his diagnosis, was not a neglect of middle-class interests in favor of laissez-faire but an excessive indulgence of big government, and insufficient devotion to dismantling the welfare state.

— dylan matthews, Vox, "Paul Ryan paved the way for Trump’s takeover of the Republican Party," 11 Apr. 2018
Sure, Republicans got their tax cuts—that’s no feat with a caucus of tax-cutters—but Ryan imagined the overthrow of the welfare state and got next to nothing.

— david dayen, The New Republic, "A Fitting End to Paul Ryan’s Fraudulent Political Career," 22 May 2018
So despite the negative stereotype, the welfare state largely consists of white people.

— michael harriot, The Root, "The Sean Hannity Controversy Exposes the Racist Hypocrisy of Wypipo Welfare," 24 Apr. 2018
As part of its all-out effort to rein in the welfare state, the Trump administration is requiring all federal agencies to submit plans for revising welfare programs over the next 90 days.

— doug mckelway, Fox News, "Welfare reform efforts underway as government seeks to rein in social programs," 1 May 2018
Conservatives have hyperbolically decried every new advance of the welfare state — Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid, Obamacare — as an existential threat to liberty and capitalism.

— jonathan chait, Daily Intelligencer, "Trump Handed the Agenda to Conservatives and They Blew It," 30 Apr. 2018
Christian Democratic parties have traditionally anchored the center-right in Europe with a similar pro-business, socially conservative, but welfare state-accepting attitude.

— dylan matthews, Vox, "Paul Ryan paved the way for Trump’s takeover of the Republican Party," 11 Apr. 2018
Causes that were once Mr. Ryan’s signature fights — an exploding budget deficit, soaring Medicare and Social Security spending and an entrenched welfare state — are on nobody’s must-do list.

— jonathan chait, Daily Intelligencer, "Paul Ryan Is a Trump Lackey for One Reason," 6 Mar. 2018
Many of the original enemies of the American welfare state were business owners who treated their employees quite well.

— eric levitz, Daily Intelligencer, "Amazon Should Not Be in Charge of Solving Our Health-Care Crisis," 30 Jan. 2018

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

First Known Use of welfare state

1894

in the meaning defined at sense 1

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WELFARE STATE Defined for English Language Learners

welfare state

noun

Definition of welfare state for English Language Learners

: a social system in which a government is responsible for the economic and social welfare of its citizens and has policies to provide free health care, money for people without jobs, etc.; also : a country that has such a system