1
: the state of doing well especially in respect to good fortune, happiness, well-being, or prosperity
must look out for your own welfare
2
a
: aid in the form of money or necessities for those in need
b
: an agency or program through which such aid is distributed
1
: of, relating to, or concerned with welfare and especially with improvement of the welfare of disadvantaged social groups
welfare legislation
2
: receiving public welfare benefits
welfare families
Synonyms
Examples of welfare in a Sentence
Noun
He wants to do away with welfare.
I have your welfare at heart.
The welfare of all the orphans was at stake.
She donates to organizations concerned about animal welfare.
Recent Examples on the Web
Katie Tam and Kanis Leung, Los Angeles Times, 18 Dec. 2024
Animal welfare advocates estimate that 124 million pigs are killed annually for food in the U.S. alone.
—Karen Weintraub, USA TODAY, 17 Dec. 2024
John Harwood, CNN, 19 Sep. 2021
Starting near the end of the last century, the rhetoric of business-minded reform increasingly cloaked the politics of deregulation, anti-welfare cutbacks, and austerity.
—Kyle Edward Williams, The New Republic, 9 Dec. 2020
See all Example Sentences for welfare 
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Noun
However, the city remains reliant on the gambling industry for revenues to support welfare programs and other goals laid out by Beijing, analysts say.
—Katie Tam and Kanis Leung, Los Angeles Times, 18 Dec. 2024
Animal welfare advocates estimate that 124 million pigs are killed annually for food in the U.S. alone.
—Karen Weintraub, USA TODAY, 17 Dec. 2024
Adjective
Moderate Democrats fear pro-welfare and anti-business labels.
—John Harwood, CNN, 19 Sep. 2021
Starting near the end of the last century, the rhetoric of business-minded reform increasingly cloaked the politics of deregulation, anti-welfare cutbacks, and austerity.
—Kyle Edward Williams, The New Republic, 9 Dec. 2020
See all Example Sentences for welfare
Dictionary Entries Near welfare
Cite this Entry
“Welfare.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/welfare. Accessed 21 Dec. 2024.
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