nanny state

American  

noun

1. a government perceived as authoritarian, interfering, or overprotective.

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nanny state British  

noun

1. a government that makes decisions for people that they might otherwise make for themselves, esp those relating to private and personal behaviour

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Etymology

Origin of nanny state

First recorded in 1965–70

Example Sentences

"If Singapore is a nanny state, then I'm proud to have fostered one," Lee Kuan Yew famously wrote in one of his books.

From BBC • Mar. 7, 2026

Detractors, on the other hand, quickly challenge such policies as being the enactment of the "nanny state".

From Salon • Sep. 18, 2023

It wasn’t long ago we were America’s Singapore, a nanny state that might ticket you for anything from jaywalking to spitting to driving around with a noisy muffler.

From Seattle Times • Mar. 15, 2023

Such a perspective is not unlike the one Elder ascribes to the so-called nanny state, which he believes infantilizes people rather than allowing us to make decisions for ourselves.

From Los Angeles Times • Sep. 8, 2021

Applying the logic of the nanny state with those facts, the police should seize kids each time they are taken for a car ride.

From New York Times • Aug. 2, 2018