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