democratic socialism

American  

noun

1. socialism, or a modified form of socialism, achieved by a gradual transition by and under democratic political processes.

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Other Word Forms

• democratic socialist
  noun

Etymology

Origin of democratic socialism

First recorded in 1845–50

Compare meaning

How does democratic-socialism compare to similar and commonly confused words? Explore the most common comparisons:

• democratic socialism vs. socialism
• social democracy vs. democratic socialism
• social democrat vs. democratic socialism

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

democratic socialism

This is where I should stop and define what democratic socialism is, as it’s been at the center of much of the misinformation about Mamdani.

From Slate ● Jan. 3, 2026

Orwell did not specify in that passage what he meant by either totalitarianism or democratic socialism, but some of his other works clarify how he understood those terms.

From Salon ● Aug. 28, 2021

Virtually airbrushed out are principal figures like Howe, Norman Thomas and Michael Harrington, who battled to disentangle democratic socialism from Communism.

From New York Times ● Sep. 29, 2020

For much of his life, the version of that vision that he shared and promoted was true democratic socialism.

From The New Yorker ● Jun. 18, 2019

Platonic and Stoical philosophy—prophetic liberalism—the strong democratic socialism of the Jewish political system—the existence of innumerable sodalities for religious and social purposes—had thrown the ancient world into a state of unstable equilibrium.

From Life and Letters of Thomas Henry Huxley — Volume 3 by Leonard Huxley