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nanny state

noun

  1. a government perceived as authoritarian, interfering, or overprotective.


nanny state

noun

  1. a government that makes decisions for people that they might otherwise make for themselves, esp those relating to private and personal behaviour
“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


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Word History and Origins

Origin of nanny state1

First recorded in 1965–70
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Example Sentences

Even in a pandemic-set reunion, Ron said nothing negative about what many real people with his politics saw as a mask-mandating nanny state.

From Time

Tell them they can quit wearing the mask after the vaccine … give them a reward instead of telling them the nanny state is going to be there for three more years, and you’ve got to wear a mask forever.

The Louisiana university has turned into a nanny state, issuing a campus smoking ban of dubious legality.

Which means that government—good old intrusive Nanny State government— must step in even more.

They see the FDA decision as one more imposition on their lives and choices by the omnipresent nanny state.

But it also means that insurance companies are reliable and active supporters of nanny-state issues.

Kremer calls Stabenow “an advocate for the big-government nanny state.”

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