liberation
Americannoun
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the act of liberating or the state of being liberated.
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the act or fact of gaining equal rights or full social or economic opportunities for a particular group.
noun
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a liberating or being liberated
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the seeking of equal status or just treatment for or on behalf of any group believed to be discriminated against
women's liberation
animal liberation
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of liberation
First recorded in 1400–50; late Middle English, from Latin līberātiōn-, stem of līberātiō; equivalent to liberate + -ion
Explanation
Liberation means the setting free of someone or something. Wild animals raised in captivity are often unprepared for their liberation when they are released back into the wild. You'll notice right off the bat that liberation is related to the noun liberty — as in "liberty and justice for all." The difference is that liberation refers specifically to the act of being made free, of going from having no freedom to having it. Famous moments of liberation include Europe's liberation from the Nazis, the slaves' liberation from slavery in the U.S., and South Africa's liberation from the oppression of apartheid.
Vocabulary lists containing liberation
Stargirl
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"Maus II: And Here My Troubles Began" by Art Spiegelman
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Passover Vocabulary
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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.
At that point, she was open to seeing the world in an entirely new way; the questioning that followed led her to a place at odds with her family but a feeling of liberation.
From Slate • May 4, 2026
Holding on for dear life and finally landing the Green Jacket provided 36-year-old McIlroy with a sense of liberation.
From BBC • Apr. 11, 2026
Scott-Heron’s lunar criticism is not so much concerned with the otherworldly as a space for imagining the earthly impossible, but for assembling earthly sites of decolonization and liberation.
From Salon • Apr. 7, 2026
As the church prepares Sunday to celebrate Christ’s resurrection on Easter, its members call for renewal and liberation of their homeland as the fate of its governance hangs in the balance.
From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 4, 2026
At university, where Robbie discovered that he was cleverer than many of the people he met, his liberation was complete.
From "Atonement" by Ian McEwan
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.
