soviet

UK/ˈsəʊvi.ət//ˈsoʊvi.ət/

soviet noun: a workers' council, an institution first formed during the 1905 Russian Revolution and then instituted as the main form of communist government at all levels in the Soviet Union; by extension, a similar organization in early Chinese communism and elsewhere. Also the alternative letter-case form of Soviet.

Noun (1)

soviet (plural soviets)

(historical) A workers' council, an institution first formed during the 1905 Russian Revolution and then instituted as the main form of communist government at all levels in the Soviet Union; by extension, a similar organization in early Chinese communism and elsewhere.
- They then established the West Hunan-Hupeh (Hsiang-O-Hsi) Special Committee and a little later transformed it into a soviet government. Party membership figures as of 1932 for a dozen counties in the area were estimated at 18,034, with the largest number, 4,468, working in Chienli County, then...1972, James Pinckney Harrison, “Growth of the Rural Soviets”, in The Long March to Power: A History of the Chinese Communist Party, 1921-72 (Praeger University Series), Praeger Publishers, →LCCN...
- Kratochvil, Jedlicka, Safar, Kubes and Vasata, who always took an interest in politics, set up a soviet in the last wagon and uncoupled it from the rest of the train in the night.2005, James Meek, The People's Act of Love, Canongate, published 2006, page 230

Adjective (1)

soviet (comparative more soviet, superlative most soviet)

Pertaining to or resembling a soviet (council).

Synonyms:

sovietic

Noun (2) capitalized: Soviet

Soviet (plural Soviets)

A citizen of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics.
- The major obstacle to a border settlement is the status of Heixiazi, a 330-square kilometer island at the confluence of the Amur and Ussuri rivers. The island is claimed by the Chinese but controlled by the USSR. Because Heixiazi overlooks Khabarovsk as well as the point where the Trans-Siberian...1991, Donald S. Zagoria, “The Changing Role of the Soviet Union in the Pacific”, in Frederic J. Fleron, Jr., Erik P. Hoffmann, Robbin F. Laird, editors, Contemporary Issues in Soviet Foreign Policy...
Alternative letter-case form of soviet (“workers' council”).
- Толчками и скачками дело все же идет к тому, что давно провозглашенный нашей партией переход власти к Советам будет осуществлен.1974 [1917], “All Power to the Soviets!”, in Lenin's Collected Works, volume 25, translation of Вся власть советам! (in Russian)

Adjective (2) capitalized: Soviet

Soviet (comparative more Soviet, superlative most Soviet)

(historical, not comparable) Pertaining to the Soviet Union or its constituent republics.
- Later, in the 1980s, western scholars found that, notwithstanding the substantial Soviet military buildup near the Chinese borders in the late 1960s, it was Beijing that initiated the clash on Zhenbao (Damanski) Island.2005, Vitaly Kozyrev, “Soviet Policy Toward the United States and China, 1969-1979”, in William C. Kirby, Robert S. Ross, Gong Li, editors, Normalization of U.S.-China Relations: An International...
- A monument to Soviet dictator Josef Stalin erected in Moscow's metro is stirring debate, with some Russians welcoming it as a historical tribute, but others saying it's a mistake to commemorate someone who presided over so much suffering.2025 May 22, “Monument to Soviet dictator Josef Stalin in Moscow metro stirs debate”, in Reuters
Supporting or representing the Soviet Union or Sovietism; Sovietist.
- He remained more Soviet than his parents and often accused Gorbachev of having destroyed the Soviet Union on behalf of US intelligence.1998, David D. Laitin, Identity in Formation: The Russian-Speaking Populations in the Near Abroad, page 9
- Only in the GDR were the returning POWs presumed guilty; there East Germans, attempting to be "more Soviet than the Soviets," […]2001, Robert G. Moeller, War Stories: The Search for a Usable Past in the Federal Republic of Germany, page 113
Synonyms:

Sovietic

Also used as

soviet is also the alternative letter-case form of Soviet.

soviet meaning in Hindi, Tamil, Marathi and Urdu

soviet in Hindi

council: सोवियत soviyat

soviet in Tamil

சோவியத்

soviet in Marathi

सोव्हिएत

soviet in Urdu

سوویت, سوویتہ

More languagesFewer languages

soviet in Bengali: সোভিয়েত śōbhiẏet
soviet in Telugu: సోవియట్
soviet in Malayalam: സോവിയറ്റ്
soviet in Kannada: ಸೋವಿಯತ್, ಸೋವಿಯೆತ್
soviet in Punjabi: ਸੋਵੀਅਤ
soviet in Gujarati: સોવિયેત
soviet in Odia: ସୋଭିଏତ, ସୋଭିଏତ୍
soviet in Nepali: सोभियत, सोभिएत
soviet in Pashto: سوويت, شورا šorã
soviet in Arabic: سوفييت sōvyēt, سُوفْيَات sufyāt, سُوفْيِت sovyet
soviet in Malay: soviet
soviet in Persian: سویت soviet, شورا šurâ, šowrâ
soviet in Thai: โซเวียต soo-wîiat
soviet in Vietnamese: xô viết
soviet in Myanmar: ဆိုဗီယက် hcuibiyak

Examples of soviet in a sentence

Soviet Ukraine was the first Soviet republic to implement this reform.
Soviet propagandists during the cold war were trained in a tactic that their western interlocutors nicknamed 'whataboutism'.
Soviet officials then complain to the ROC delegation that anti-Soviet activities flourish throughout Manchuria’s large cities.

All 20 example sentences with soviet

Synonyms of soviet

sovietic

Forms of soviet

Noun
plural	soviets
plural	Soviets
Adjective
comparative	more soviet
superlative	most soviet
comparative	more Soviet
superlative	most Soviet
alternative form	soviet

Plural of soviet: soviets

Origin of soviet

Borrowed from Russian сове́т (sovét, “council”), from Old Russian borrowed from Old Church Slavonic съвѣтъ (sŭvětŭ, “advice”). Compounded from съ- (sŭ-) + вѣтъ (větŭ, “agreement”), from Proto-Slavic *větъ (“council, talk”). Related words include наве́т (navét), изве́т (izvét), отве́т (otvét), приве́т (privét), обе́т (obét), ве́че (véče), отвеча́ть (otvečátʹ), отве́тить (otvétitʹ), завеща́ть (zaveščátʹ), and совещаться (soveščatʹsja). Probably cognate with Polish witać (“to welcome”).

Borrowed from Russian сове́т (sovét).

Words formed from soviet

Phrases with soviet

25 more phrasesFewer phrases

Words that rhyme with soviet

Questions about soviet

What does soviet mean?: Soviet means a workers' council, an institution first formed during the 1905 Russian Revolution and then instituted as the main form of communist government at all levels in the Soviet Union; by extension, a similar organization in early Chinese communism and elsewhere.
What is soviet in Hindi?: Soviet in Hindi is सोवियत (soviyat). See Soviet meaning in Hindi.
What part of speech is soviet?: Soviet can be a noun or an adjective.
How do you pronounce soviet?: Soviet is pronounced /ˈsəʊvi.ət/ (UK).
What is the plural of soviet?: The plural of soviet is soviets.

Words near soviet in the dictionary

Last updated: 2026-09-02

Pronunciation audio from Wikimedia Commons, each file under its own free license: en-us-Soviet.ogg.

Cite this entry: “soviet.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/soviet. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.