free-living

[ free-liv-ing ]

/ ˈfriˈlɪv ɪŋ /

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See synonyms for free-living on Thesaurus.com

adjective

following a way of life in which one freely indulges the appetites, desires, etc.

Biology. noting an organism that is neither parasitic, symbiotic, nor sessile.

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“Was” is used for the indicative past tense of “to be,” and “were” is only used for the subjunctive past tense.

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Origin of free-living

First recorded in 1810–20

Words nearby free-living

Free Kirk, free labour, freelance, free list, free liver, free-living, freeload, freeloader, free love, free lunch, freely

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2022

How to use free-living in a sentence

In other words, the free thinker defending freedom of thought.
Houellebecq’s Incendiary Novel Imagines France With a Muslim President|Pierre Assouline|January 9, 2015|DAILY BEAST
Tend to your own garden, to quote the great sage of free speech, Voltaire, and invite people to follow your example.
How the PC Police Threaten Free Speech|Nick Gillespie|January 9, 2015|DAILY BEAST
The simple, awful truth is that free speech has never been particularly popular in America.
How the PC Police Threaten Free Speech|Nick Gillespie|January 9, 2015|DAILY BEAST
Cambodia, with its seemingly free press, is also a haven for foreign journalists.
Cambodia’s Smoke-and-Mirrors Democracy|David Shaftel|January 9, 2015|DAILY BEAST

Patrick Klugman, the deputy mayor of Paris, said: “We are living our kind of 9/11,” he said.
France Kills Charlie Hebdo Murderers|Nico Hines|January 9, 2015|DAILY BEAST
What need to look to right or left when you are swallowing up free mile after mile of dizzying road?
The Joyous Adventures of Aristide Pujol|William J. Locke
It seemed to free her of a responsibility which she had blindly assumed and for which Fate had not fitted her.
The Awakening and Selected Short Stories|Kate Chopin
If we can free this State of Yankees, we will accomplish more than your armies down south have.
The Courier of the Ozarks|Byron A. Dunn
The voice of the orator peculiarly should be free from studied effects, and responsive to motive.
Expressive Voice Culture|Jessie Eldridge Southwick
Above all, he was amazed to hear me talk of a mercenary standing army in the midst of peace and among a free people.
Gulliver's Travels|Jonathan Swift

British Dictionary definitions for free-living

free-living

adjective

given to ready indulgence of the appetites

(of animals and plants) not parasitic; existing independently

Derived forms of free-living

free-liver, noun

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

free-living

Origin of free-living

Words nearby free-living

Words related to free-living

How to use free-living in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for free-living

Derived forms of free-living