four freedoms

plural noun

1. freedom of speech, freedom of worship, freedom from want, and freedom from fear: stated as goals of U.S. policy by President Franklin D. Roosevelt on January 6, 1941.

Four Freedoms

1. Four kinds of freedom mentioned by President Franklin D. Roosevelt in a speech in 1941 as worth fighting for: freedom of speech and expression, freedom of worship, freedom from want, and freedom from fear. Roosevelt spoke of the Four Freedoms before the United States entered World War II . He was presenting the war as a struggle for freedom and calling for aid to the Allies .

Related Words

• civil rights
• freedom
• freedom of religion
• freedom of speech