liberate

[ lib-uh-reyt ]

verb (used with object)

, lib·er·at·ed, lib·er·at·ing.

1. to set free, as from imprisonment or bondage.

   Synonyms: loose, disenthrall, unfetter, deliver

   Antonyms: enthrall, imprison

2. to free (a nation or area) from control by a foreign or oppressive government.
3. to free (a group or individual) from social or economic constraints or discrimination, especially arising from traditional role expectations or bias.
4. to disengage; set free from combination, as a gas.
5. Slang. to steal or take over illegally:

   The soldiers liberated a consignment of cigarettes.

liberate

/ ˈlɪbəˌreɪt /

verb

1. to give liberty to; make free
2. to release (something, esp a gas) from chemical combination during a chemical reaction
3. to release from occupation or subjugation by a foreign power
4. to free from social prejudices or injustices
5. euphemistic.
   to steal

Derived Forms

• ˈliberˌator, noun

Other Words From

• liber·ative lib·er·a·to·ry [lib, -er-, uh, -tawr-ee, -tohr-ee], adjective
• liber·ator noun
• pre·liber·ate verb (used with object) preliberated preliberating
• re·liber·ate verb (used with object) reliberated reliberating
• un·liber·ated adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of liberate¹

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

Synonym Study

See release.

Example Sentences

So, what compelled the gladiatrix to liberate herself from the expectations of womanhood — like contemporary fighters — and take the oath of the gladiator: “I will endure to be burned, to be bound, to be beaten and to be killed by the sword”?

From Salon

He was handed over to the ICC in 2018 by the Malian authorities - five years after French troops helped liberate Timbuktu from the jihadists.

From BBC

“The whole idea was to maybe gain some political leverage in potential negotiations, but militarily to draw the Russian forces away from the Donbas in order to liberate Kursk. And what we're seeing instead is that Ukrainian units are tied down there.”

From BBC

Her experiment showed that birds were able to learn how to liberate food from a puzzle box by copying the solution from others -- confirming that the original milk-raiding birds had also been passing on their thieving ways to their flock.

From Science Daily

And yet Mr. Trump cloaked the effort’s announcement in glamour, calling it “potentially ‘The Manhattan Project’ of our time,” aiming “to liberate our economy, and make the U.S. government accountable to ‘WE THE PEOPLE.’”

From New York Times

Related Words

• emancipate
• free
• rescue
• save