social democrat

noun

1. a person who advocates a gradual transition to socialism or a modified form of socialism by and under democratic political processes.

2. Social Democrat. (especially in Europe) a member of any of certain Social Democratic parties.

social democrat

noun

1. any socialist who believes in the gradual transformation of capitalism into democratic socialism

2. (usually capital) a member of a Social Democratic Party

Word History and Origins

Origin of social democrat¹

First recorded in 1875–80

Example Sentences

The Spanish Socialist PM Pedro Sanchez's approach is to not to bang on about immigration but when necessary to defend it as a contributor to a growing economy, while the Danish Social Democrat PM Mette Federikson has been taking a hard line on asylum.

From BBC

Jonas Gahr Støre, 65, told jubilant supporters that even though right-wing forces were on the rise in Europe, social democrat parties could still win elections.

From BBC

Some members of Pistorius's Social Democrat party, the junior partner in the coalition, have criticised the plans, saying the Bundeswehr should be made a more attractive employer, rather than re-introducing compulsory military service.

From BBC

EU policy has in effect given Aliyev "a free hand", says Eldar Mamedov, a former Latvian diplomat who served as foreign policy adviser to the European Parliament's Social Democrat group.

From BBC

Ernst Ludwig Kirschner, an Expressionist painter who privately disdained the Nazi regime, sought to assure Nazi authorities that he was “neither a Jew nor a Social Democrat,” but was expelled from the Prussian Academy of Arts anyway.

From Salon