illiberal
[ih-lib-er-uh l, ih-lib-ruh l]
- narrowminded; bigoted.
- Archaic.
- not generous in giving; miserly; niggardly; stingy.
- Chiefly Literary.without culture or refinement; unscholarly; vulgar.
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Origin of illiberal
Synonyms
See more synonyms for illiberal on Thesaurus.com1. biased, intolerant, hidebound, small-minded.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018
Examples from the Web for illiberal
Contemporary Examples
Which was the right thing to be, after all, because communism is as illiberal as fascism.
The refugees and civilian leaders believe the illiberal rhetoric from their armed allies reflect fundraising, not ideology.
Prohibition (aka, the “war on drugs”) is an illiberal failure.
D.C. Needs a Grassroots Fix That Will Come When Left and Right Find Common GroundLawrence Lessig
February 9, 2014
These days, instead, we witness elections followed by majoritarian mob rule—what Fareed Zakaria has called “illiberal democracy.”
And this worldview clashes not only with the secular left and illiberal right in the government.
Historical Examples
First, Harsh and illiberal conduct on the part of the Banks.
Trade and Travel in the Far EastG. F. Davidson
When I asked what made them illiberal, he answered, "It is because they are liberal."
Lectures on the French RevolutionJohn Emerich Edward Dalberg-Acton
He is the expounder of Revolution in its compulsory and illiberal aspect.
Lectures on the French RevolutionJohn Emerich Edward Dalberg-Acton
Too illiberal, you think; and what would Mr. J. S. Mill say?
The Crown of Wild OliveJohn Ruskin
For friendship is noble and refined, whereas pleasure is vulgar and illiberal.
Plutarch's MoralsPlutarch
illiberal
- narrow-minded; prejudiced; bigoted; intolerant
- not generous; mean
- lacking in culture or refinement
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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
Word Origin and History for illiberal
adj.
1530s, "ungentlemanly, base, mean," from Middle French illiberal (14c.), from Latin illiberalis "ungenerous, mean, sordid; unworthy of a freeman," from assimilated form of in- "not, opposite of" (see in- (1)) + liberalis (see liberal). A sense of "narrow-minded politically; unconcerned with the rights or liberties of others" is attested from 1640s, and might conceivably be revived to take up some of the burden that drags down conservative.
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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper