Meanings
comparative more paternalistic · superlative most paternalistic
- of, pertaining to, characteristic of or practicing paternalism
With a scanty supply of laws in Hellenic commonwealths or city states what an immense vista for an Aristotle, of that grand, complex, efficient machinery of law, turning out yearly thousands of laws and taboos for the paternalistic control and alleged welfare of the citizen!
1919, Boris Sidis, The Source and Aim of Human Progress
Synonyms & antonyms
adjectivebenevolent but sometimes intrusive
Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.
Origin
Rhymes & wordplay
Anagrams
Cite this entry
paternalistic. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/paternalistic
“paternalistic.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/paternalistic. Accessed November 2, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “paternalistic,” accessed November 2, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/paternalistic.
Source: paternalistic on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.