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
Examples of welfare state in a Sentence
supporters of the welfare state
Recent Examples on the Web
Until then, expanding the welfare state doesn’t make the bucket leakier.
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Timothy Noah, The New Republic, 20 Sep. 2021
True paleo-liberal governors like Pat Brown greatly expanded the welfare state.
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Victor Davis Hanson, Arkansas Online, 13 Sep. 2021
The Obama administration pushed policies that expanded the welfare state to the detriment of economic growth, and the trade-off was a long and tepid recovery.
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Jason L. Riley, WSJ, 10 Aug. 2021
One leg was economic and libertarian, appealing to business-minded voters with a platform of tax cuts, deregulation, and gutting the welfare state.
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Corey Robin, The New York Review of Books, 21 Oct. 2020
The Social Democrats, who helped build Sweden’s robust welfare state, favor strengthening the system.
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Washington Post, 23 Aug. 2021
That is the club known as the European welfare state.
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Daniel Henninger, WSJ, 16 June 2021
The welfare state, promising personal security, has replaced the obsession with national security in the minds of millions.
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WSJ, 22 June 2021
But Democrats under Biden are seeking permanent expansions of the American welfare state through their wish list spending packages.
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W. James Antle Iii, Washington Examiner, 16 Mar. 2021
See MoreThese 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.
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Cite this Entry
“Welfare state.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/welfare%20state. Accessed 28 Sep. 2021.
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Time Traveler for welfare state
The first known use of welfare state was in 1894
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