liberate
Americanverb (used with object)
-
to set free, as from imprisonment or bondage.
- Synonyms:
- loose, disenthrall, unfetter, deliver
-
to free (a nation or area) from control by a foreign or oppressive government.
-
to free (a group or individual) from social or economic constraints or discrimination, especially arising from traditional role expectations or bias.
-
to disengage; set free from combination, as a gas.
-
Slang. to steal or take over illegally.
The soldiers liberated a consignment of cigarettes.
verb
-
to give liberty to; make free
-
to release (something, esp a gas) from chemical combination during a chemical reaction
-
to release from occupation or subjugation by a foreign power
-
to free from social prejudices or injustices
-
euphemistic to steal
Related Words
See release.
Other Word Forms
- liberative adjective
- liberator noun
- liberatory adjective
- preliberate verb (used with object)
- reliberate verb (used with object)
- unliberated adjective
Etymology
Origin of liberate
First recorded in 1615–25; from Latin līberātus (past participle of līberāre “to free”), equivalent to līberā- verb stem + -tus past participle suffix. See liberal, -ate 1
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
The process is prescriptive, but the effect is liberating.
From Los Angeles Times
Creation comes naturally to both of them; playing with personal aesthetics is a means of liberating oneself from the status quo.
From Salon
MIAMI—In recent weeks, family members of a group of Cuban dissidents who overheard their making plans to “liberate Cuba” dismissed the talk as the kind of bravado that is common among Cuban-American exiles.
A US-based man identified by Cuba as one of those killed by its coast guard in a shootout had often spoken of wanting to liberate the communist island, a political ally told AFP on Thursday.
From Barron's
Ukrainian forces were able to liberate large areas of the north and parts of the south in 2022, but more recent counter-offensives have not had the same success.
From BBC
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
