Meanings
nounnanny state (plural nanny states)
plural nanny states
- derogatoryA state whose government institutions are authoritative and over-paternalistic, interfering with and controlling people's lives.First known use mid-20th c.
1 more example
Scapegoating an impotent government (running around to clean up the messes made by its business friends) arises from bad faith, from a continuing hostility to the Nanny State that nevertheless goes alongside a refusal to accept the consequences of the sidelining of government in global capitalism […]
2009, Mark Fisher, chapter 8, in Capitalist Realism: Is There No Alternative?, Zero Books, →ISBN, page 63
Synonyms & antonyms
Origin
Of British origin.
Full word history & related roots →Translations
Chinese Mandarin 保姆國家 /保姆国家
- 保姆國家 /保姆国家 (bǎo mǔ guó jiā)over-paternalistic government
French état nounou, état paternaliste
- état nounouover-paternalistic government
- état paternalisteover-paternalistic government
- gouvernemamanover-paternalistic government
German Bevormundungsstaat, Gouvernantenstaat
- Bevormundungsstaatover-paternalistic government
- Gouvernantenstaatover-paternalistic government
Italian Stato-balia
- Stato-baliaover-paternalistic government
Polish państwo opiekuńcze
- państwo opiekuńczeover-paternalistic government
Spanish estado paternalista
- estado paternalistaover-paternalistic government
Swedish förmyndarstat
- förmyndarstatover-paternalistic government
Cite this entry
APA
nanny state. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 4, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/nanny%20state
MLA
“nanny state.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/nanny%20state. Accessed November 4, 2026.
Chicago
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “nanny state,” accessed November 4, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/nanny%20state.
Source: nanny state on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.