fellow traveler

American  

noun

1. a person who supports or sympathizes with a political party, especially the Communist Party, but is not an enrolled member.

2. anyone who, although not a member, supports or sympathizes with some organization, movement, or the like.

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fellow traveler Cultural  

1. One who supports the aims or philosophies of a political group without joining it. A “fellow traveler” is usually one who sympathizes with communist doctrines but is not a member of the Communist party. The term was used disparagingly in the 1950s to describe people accused of being communists.

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Other Word Forms

• fellow-traveling adjective

Etymology

Origin of fellow traveler

1605–15, for literal sense

Example Sentences

Nashville assumes a conservative audience, and that audience assumes they’re hearing from a fellow traveler.

From Salon

And when we reach a dense forest of trees, so tall they seem to reach the sky, a few of our fellow travelers balk.

From Literature

You will reach your destination feeling more kindly to your fellow travelers, which can only improve any trip.

From Los Angeles Times

This last comment came from a fellow traveler, ruefully disclosing an act of self-defense many years ago.

From Los Angeles Times

And you confide more because you know your fellow travelers—the friend who had to struggle with professional disappointments she now understands are final, or with personal ones that cannot be changed.

From The Wall Street Journal