liberatory
Americanadjective
Explanation
If something is liberatory, it gives you a sense of freedom and relief. If you're bored waiting for something to end so that you can go home, the signal that you can finally leave is liberatory. Liberatory comes from a Latin word liberare meaning "to set free." This is also where we get words like liberation and liberally. It can refer to something that gives literal freedom, like a clock chiming when it's time to go home, or metaphorical freedom, like a book that gives you a new perspective.
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.
Seniors are favorite characters of Ms. Williams, avatars of a spirit of liberatory indifference.
From The Wall Street Journal • Nov. 14, 2025
In this country, the liberatory heart of Christianity, among other religious traditions, has always been a source of strength for popular social movements.
From Salon • Jul. 21, 2025
Banham’s revolutionary study has aged both well and badly; his sense of the liberatory aspect of the freeways, for instance, now seems both sentimental and benighted.
From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 11, 2023
“As books about queer folks continue to face bannings and challenges across the country, writing a book that’s rooted in joy about the way we love one another feels like a liberatory act.”
From Seattle Times • Feb. 15, 2023
And it argues its case by examining 38 other ostensibly liberatory images of Black subjects that predate and postdate this one.
From New York Times • Mar. 10, 2022
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.
