liberate

[lib-uh-reyt]

verb (used with object)

liberated, liberating 

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

Other Word Forms

• liberative adjective
• liberatory adjective
• liberator noun
• preliberate verb (used with object)
• reliberate verb (used with object)
• unliberated 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

With “facilitated communication,” parents were convinced they were liberating the trapped thoughts of their autistic children through a keyboard, unaware they were manipulating their children’s hands.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

Due to its liberating and anarchic nature, there is a consensus that Burning Man symbolizes the legacy of the socially libertarian spirit of the 1960s counterculture.

Read more on Salon

The demonstrations come after Tchiroma Bakary called on his supporters in the country and the diaspora to march peacefully to "liberate Cameroon".

Read more on BBC

SLA-AW has controlled what locals describe as "liberated areas" for more than two decades.

Read more on BBC

When you combine this many irons in the fire with the amount of time, labor and money it takes to run a soundstage art car at Burning Man, it’s no wonder González Vargas felt liberated.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

Related Words

• emancipate 
• free 
• rescue 
• save