civil liberty
Americannoun
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the freedom of a citizen to exercise customary rights, as of speech or assembly, without unwarranted or arbitrary interference by the government.
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such a right as guaranteed by the laws of a country, as in the U.S. by the Bill of Rights.
noun
Etymology
Origin of civil liberty
First recorded in 1635–45
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.
In a presentation to the Police Commission last month, the LAPD’s technology czar, Dean Gialamas, said that the department understood the privacy and civil liberty concerns raised about companies such as Flock.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 7, 2026
But civil liberty groups are worried that its accuracy is yet to be fully established, and point to cases such as Shaun Thompson's.
From BBC ● May 25, 2024
Locke also differentiates between natural liberty, which grows out of natural law, and civil liberty, which is the product of governance by a commonwealth.
From Textbooks ● Jun. 15, 2022
"Public safety is not compromised. Humanitarian-wise, it's a civil liberty issue."
From Salon ● Jun. 12, 2022
The Guelph party meant the burghers of the consular Communes, the men of industry and commerce, the upholders of civil liberty, the friends of democratic expansion.
From Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 12, Slice 6 "Groups, Theory of" to "Gwyniad" by Various
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.
