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.
For some, working behind the scenes might be stifling, but for Walden, it’s liberating.
From Los Angeles Times
Once Paris was liberated in August 1944, a small cadre of FBI agents known as the Army Liaison Unit arrived and set up shop.
"Our goal is to liberate the Iranian people in a fashion that does not cripple their chance to start a new and better life when this regime collapses," Graham wrote on X.
From Barron's
It adds that Gavalas was led to believe he was carrying out a plan to liberate his AI "wife".
From BBC
That these romances represent consideration as the ultimate seduction makes them not merely release valves, but emotionally liberating escapes.
From Salon
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.
