Socialistic

adjective

/ˌsəʊ.ʃəˈlɪs.tɪk/

Having the characteristics of or tending towards socialism, particularly the advocacy of collective or state ownership and equitable distribution of resources.

✍️ Usage in a UPSC answer

Critics argue that the dirigiste licence-permit regime of the early decades, though socialistic in intent, ultimately throttled enterprise and entrenched the very inequalities it sought to dissolve.

Synonyms

socialistcollectivistegalitarianredistributivestatistleftist

Antonyms

capitalisticindividualistfree-marketlaissez-faire

🌱 Word Family

social (adj), socialism (n), socialist (n/adj), socialize (v), sociality (n)

🔡 Root

French socialiste → Latin sociālis = of companionship; socius = companion; -ic = adjectival suffix

📜 Etymology

From French socialiste (from Latin sociālis, "of companionship") + the suffix -ic; earliest known use in the 1840s (OED's first evidence from 1848, The Times, London).

🧠 Memory Hook

"Social" + "-istic" — society over self: a system tilted towards the SOCIAL collective rather than the private individual.

⚖️ Polity & Constitution 📖 Seen in: Directive Principles of State Policy (...

Tip: press Alt+S to hear pronunciation