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View synonyms for welfare

welfare

[ wel-fair ]

noun

  1. the good fortune, health, happiness, prosperity, etc., of a person, group, or organization; well-being:

    to look after a child's welfare; the physical or moral welfare of society.

  2. financial or other assistance to an individual or family from a city, state, or national government:

    Thousands of jobless people in this city would starve if it weren't for welfare.

  3. (initial capital letter) Informal. a governmental agency that provides funds and aid to people in need, especially those unable to work.


welfare

/ ˈwɛlˌfɛə /

noun

  1. health, happiness, prosperity, and well-being in general
    1. financial and other assistance given to people in need
    2. ( as modifier )

      welfare services

  2. Also calledwelfare work plans or work to better the social or economic conditions of various underprivileged groups
  3. the welfare informal.
    the public agencies involved with giving such assistance
  4. on welfare
    in receipt of financial aid from a government agency or other source
“Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged” 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012


welfare

  1. Government-provided support for those unable to support themselves. In the United States, it is undertaken by various federal, state, and local agencies under the auspices of different programs, the best known of which are Aid to Families with Dependent Children (AFDC) and food stamps.


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Other Words From

  • anti·welfare adjective
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Word History and Origins

Origin of welfare1

First recorded in 1275–1325; Middle English, from phrase wel fare; equivalent to well 1 + fare
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Word History and Origins

Origin of welfare1

C14: from the phrase wel fare; related to Old Norse velferth, German Wohlfahrt; see well 1, fare
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Idioms and Phrases

Idioms
  1. on welfare, receiving financial aid from the government or from a private organization because of hardship and need.
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Example Sentences

Not only is getting out and about good for your health, it also does wonders for your dog’s welfare, Gruen says.

In a country with some 210 million people, such a system could speed up the delivery of social welfare and tax benefits, and make public policies more efficient.

Beyond boosting profits, their efforts are driven by an imminent climate crisis, in which cattle play a significant role, and growing concern for livestock welfare among consumers.

So, the costs — of pollution, of degraded animal welfare — that are currently not being borne by either producers or consumers of food, would have to be borne.

In effect, it enhances social insurance protections and is a step towards universal basic income, both policies I think would improve social welfare even in the absence of a pandemic.

Many parents have been defeated in their efforts to get help from child welfare departments.

In 2011, only 27 percent of families living in poverty were receiving welfare assistance.

This year, a bare-bones welfare program will continue into the New Year without being updated.

It was a Republican Congress working with a Democratic president that succeeded in passing the welfare reform bill the first time.

Once upon a time Bill Clinton and a bipartisan congressional majority ended welfare as we once knew it.

Feeling secure regarding their happiness and welfare, she did not miss them except with an occasional intense longing.

These are obtained easily, whence follow the sinister reports that they give your Majesty, to the harm of the public welfare.

His wife was ignorant of the cause of his staying out so long, and suffered greatly from anxiety about his welfare.

Occasions happen when the removal of directors is essential to the welfare of a corporation.

I am sending this by Wong, as I am watched closely, though he pretends to be looking out only for my welfare.

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Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.

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