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

Derived Forms

• fellow-traveling
  adjective

Etymology

Origin of fellow traveler

1605–15, for literal sense

Example Sentences

The Kent exit put Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard, his former boss and fellow traveler, in a most uncomfortable spot.

From Slate • Mar. 21, 2026

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

From Salon • Feb. 4, 2026

For his friend and fellow traveler Adrian Boult, the Fifth’s “serene loveliness” indeed showed, “as only music can, what we must work for when this madness is over.”

From New York Times • Oct. 12, 2022

The late Angela Carter stands out as a rare fellow traveler.

From Los Angeles Times • Aug. 26, 2022

It was at this point that we saw our first fellow traveler.

From "The Ugly One" by Leanne Statland Ellis