social democracy

American  

noun

1. a political ideology advocating a gradual transition to socialism or a modified form of socialism by and under democratic political processes.

2. a system of government achieved in this way.

   Sweden’s social democracy.

3. Social Democracy, the principles and policies of any of certain Social Democratic parties, especially in Europe.

---

social democracy British  

noun

1. (sometimes capital) the beliefs, principles, practices, or programme of a Social Democratic Party or of social democrats

---

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• social democratic
  adjective

Etymology

Origin of social democracy

First recorded in 1885–90

Compare meaning

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

• social democracy vs. democratic socialism

Example Sentences

In its history of dreamers versus big business, the Hollywood Bowl has strived, often with difficulty, to be a model of artistic and social democracy.

From Los Angeles Times • Mar. 29, 2024

Storytelling, metaphors, and allowing more voices to share their subjective and personal experiences of power and society are necessary tools for creating real social democracy.

From Salon • Feb. 17, 2023

One of the largest and most influential of the political parties that espoused social democracy was the German Social Democratic Party.

From Textbooks • Dec. 14, 2022

“The bottom line is that all platforms can do more and need to do more for the shared set of facts that social democracy depends on,” Mr. Brookie said.

From New York Times • Aug. 14, 2022

But though the method was revolution and the goal social democracy, Ket was no anarchist.

From The Rise of the Democracy by Clayton, Joseph