liberty
1 Americannoun
plural
liberties-
freedom from arbitrary or despotic government or control.
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freedom from external or foreign rule; independence.
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freedom from control, interference, obligation, restriction, hampering conditions, etc.; power or right of doing, thinking, speaking, etc., according to choice.
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freedom from captivity, confinement, or physical restraint.
The prisoner soon regained his liberty.
- Synonyms:
- liberation
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permission granted to a sailor, especially in the navy, to go ashore.
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freedom or right to frequent or use a place.
The visitors were given the liberty of the city.
- Synonyms:
- immunity, privilege, license, permission, franchise
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unwarranted or impertinent freedom in action or speech, or a form or instance of it.
to take liberties.
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a female figure personifying freedom from despotism.
idioms
noun
noun
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the power of choosing, thinking, and acting for oneself; freedom from control or restriction
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the right or privilege of access to a particular place; freedom
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(often plural) a social action regarded as being familiar, forward, or improper
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(often plural) an action that is unauthorized or unwarranted in the circumstances
he took liberties with the translation
-
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authorized leave granted to a sailor
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( as modifier )
liberty man
liberty boat
-
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free, unoccupied, or unrestricted
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to be overfamiliar or overpresumptuous (with)
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to venture or presume (to do something)
Related Words
See freedom.
Etymology
Origin of liberty
First recorded in 1325–75; Middle English liberte, from Middle French, from Latin lībertāt-, stem of lībertās, equivalent to līber “free” + -tās -ty 2
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.
NGOs and civil society groups regularly condemn violations of civil liberties and threats against political opponents.
From Barron's
And, an overlapping circle of liberals and intellectuals who wanted to restore the 1906 constitution with free elections and civil liberties.
But the story takes similar liberties with linear time.
Luhrmann took some creative liberties to achieve a kind of emotional truth.
From Los Angeles Times
He rightly calls the legislative process “the bulwark of liberty.”
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.
