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statist
noun
stat·ist
ˈstÄ?-tist
plural statists
: someone who believes that economic controls and planning should be concentrated in the hands of a highly centralized government : an advocate of statism
[U.S. Supreme Court Justice Byron] White's cynicism about the distinction between law and politics transformed him into the Court's most persistent statist. A former clerk for another justice summed up White's philosophy as "… If Congress passed this law, why is it my business to get in the way?"—
Jeffrey Rosen
statist
adjective
… statist environmentalism, a position favoring a strong state role in environmental governance …
—
Christian Brannstrom
Examples of statist in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
Further outrage against the inflexible statist ideology of the world anti-doping bureaucracy is useless.
—
Sally Jenkins, Washington Post, 13 July 2024
Despite these important differences, Chinese and Russian elites do share a conservative, statist worldview.
—
Joseph Torigian, Foreign Affairs, 24 June 2024
But he is better understood as a statist, a leader who subordinates the needs of the people to those of the state.
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Jade McGlynn, Foreign Affairs, 17 Aug. 2023
Beijing has, in short, used the open international economy to bolster its own statist and mercantilist system.
—
Fareed Zakaria, Foreign Affairs, 6 Dec. 2019
These villages run the gamut from statist to localist.
—
Robert Brooks, National Review, 28 July 2024
According to those hard-braking statists, the average American driver slows on the brakes 19 times for every 1,000 miles driven.
—
oregonlive.com, 25 June 2024
Biden also offers what statists truly crave: control.
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Deroy Murdock, National Review, 7 June 2024
The left’s narrative of unaccountable capitalism provides a rationale for another regulatory-state power grab, with union stakeholder friends of statists serving as their proxies.
—
WSJ, 18 Sep. 2018
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Word History
First Known Use
1898, in the meaning defined above
Phrases Containing statist
Dictionary Entries Near statist
Cite this Entry
“Statist.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/statist. Accessed 7 Feb. 2025.
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