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• liberal
  liberal

  adjective

  favorable to progress or reform, as in political or religious affairs.
• Liberal
  Liberal

  noun

  a city in SW Kansas.

liberal

¹ American  

[lib-er-uhl, lib-ruhl] / ˈlɪb ər əl, ˈlɪb rəl /

adjective

1. favorable to progress or reform, as in political or religious affairs.

   Synonyms:

   progressive

   Antonyms:

   reactionary

2. (often initial capital letter) noting or pertaining to a political party advocating measures of progressive political reform.

3. of, pertaining to, based on, or advocating liberalism, especially the freedom of the individual and governmental guarantees of individual rights and liberties.

4. favorable to or in accord with concepts of maximum individual freedom possible, especially as guaranteed by law and secured by governmental protection of civil liberties.

5. favoring or permitting freedom of action, especially with respect to matters of personal belief or expression.

   a liberal policy toward dissident artists and writers.

6. of or relating to representational forms of government rather than aristocracies and monarchies.

7. free from prejudice or bigotry; tolerant.

   a liberal attitude toward foreigners.

   Synonyms:

   unprejudiced, broad-minded

8. open-minded or tolerant, especially free of or not bound by traditional or conventional ideas, values, etc.

   Antonyms:

   intolerant

9. characterized by generosity and willingness to give in large amounts.

   a liberal donor.

   Synonyms:

   lavish, unstinting, munificent, openhanded, charitable, beneficent

10. given freely or abundantly; generous.

    a liberal donation.

11. not strict or rigorous; not literal; free.

    a liberal interpretation of a rule.

12. of, relating to, or based on the liberal arts.

13. of, relating to, or befitting a freeman.

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noun

• liberals
  plural

1. a person of liberal principles or views, especially in politics or religion.

2. (often initial capital letter) a member of a liberal party in politics, especially of the Liberal party in Great Britain.

Liberal ² American  

[lib-er-uhl, lib-ruhl] / ˈlɪb ər əl, ˈlɪb rəl /

noun

1. a city in SW Kansas.

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Liberal ¹ British  

/ ˈlɪbərəl, ˈlɪbrəl /

noun

1. a member or supporter of a Liberal Party or Liberal Democrat party

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adjective

1. of or relating to a Liberal Party

liberal ² British  

/ ˈlɪbrəl, ˈlɪbərəl /

adjective

1. relating to or having social and political views that favour progress and reform

2. relating to or having policies or views advocating individual freedom

3. giving and generous in temperament or behaviour

4. tolerant of other people

5. abundant; lavish

   a liberal helping of cream

6. not strict; free

   a liberal translation

7. of or relating to an education that aims to develop general cultural interests and intellectual ability

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noun

1. a person who has liberal ideas or opinions

liberal Cultural  

1. A descriptive term for persons, policies, and beliefs associated with liberalism.

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Usage

What does liberal mean? Liberal means favorable to reform or progress, such as in religion or politics. Generally, a person is considered to be liberal if they support changes or reforms to something, as in The pastor was especially liberal and argued for changes to the ceremony to better fit with modern society. Progressive is a commonly used synonym for this sense of liberal, while conservative, meaning in favor of existing conditions or restoring older ones, an antonym. Liberal also means of, related to, based on, or supporting liberalism, a philosophy that argues for maximum individual freedoms and liberties. Somewhat related to this, liberal can mean open minded or tolerant, as in She had a liberal attitude toward foreign immigrants. Liberal is also used to mean not strict or not literal, as in The judge practiced a liberal interpretation of the truancy laws, often not punishing students for skipping school. And liberal is used to describe generous giving, as in John was a liberal donor to his college. Finally, liberal can be a synonym for abundant or ample, as in He dumped a liberal amount of sprinkles on his ice cream. As a noun, liberal is used to refer to a person who has liberal views, especially on politics or religion. When capitalized, Liberal refers to a member of a liberal political party, such as the Liberal party of Great Britain. Example: The prime minister faced intense criticism from the liberal members of the government, who demanded change to the traditional policies.  

Synonym Usage

See generous. See ample.

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• antiliberalness
  noun
• liberalness
  noun
• antiliberal
  adjective
• half-liberal
  adjective
• nonliberal
  adjective
• overliberal
  adjective
• preliberal
  adjective
• pseudoliberal
  adjective
• quasi-liberal
  adjective
• semiliberal
  adjective
• unliberal
  adjective
• liberally
  adverb

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• liberals
  plural

Etymology

Origin of liberal

First recorded in 1350–1400; Middle English, from Old French, from Latin līberālis “of freedom, befitting the free, honorable,” equivalent to līber “free, open, frank” + -ālis -al ¹

Explanation

A liberal is someone on the left wing of politics — the opposite of a conservative. Also, a liberal attitude toward anything means more tolerance for change. There are many meanings for liberal, but they mostly have to do with freedom and openness to change. A teacher with a liberal policy toward attendance is going to be forgiving of missed days. A bank with a liberal attitude toward your money would probably be bad: some things are awful if they're loose and free. But no one will give you a hard time if you use a liberal amount of catsup on your fries.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

liberal Liberal liberals

“It is no secret that liberal values have guided my life and that I have supported political leaders that share similar values,” Kushner told Forbes in 2017.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 12, 2026

Installing Baka as president signals a "guarantee that the restoration of liberal democracy will proceed along a clearly defined path," Bulcsu Zsiga, from the Centre for Fair Political Analysis, told AFP.

From Barron's ● Aug. 11, 2026

Not whether Ellison privately considers himself a conservative, a liberal or a man above ideology, nor whether Weiss thinks of herself as a dissident or a reformer.

From Salon ● Aug. 8, 2026

Evan Wolfson founded and led the successful Freedom to Marry campaign for same-sex couples in the U.S., and he writes in Slate about how his experience offers lessons for saving American liberal democracy.

From Slate ● Aug. 6, 2026

It underpinned the more difficult “quadrivium”—arithmetic, geometry, music, and astronomy— that students went on to learn; all seven subjects taken in toto being the so-called liberal arts.

From "Words Like Loaded Pistols" by Sam Leith

"I'm not a supporter of the Liberal Democratic Party or a defender of the current government, but this is really awful. It's disrespectful towards our prime minister," said one X user.

From Barron's ● Aug. 12, 2026

In Carney, Trudeau’s Liberal Party successor as prime minister, Smith has found an unlikely ally.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 5, 2026

She is responsible for community safety at the Liberal Democrat-led council and says since Covid there has been a surge in visitors who arrive without plans for accommodation, meaning fly-camping is rife.

From BBC ● Aug. 2, 2026

Liberal Democrat leader Sir Ed Davey took part in the talks but Conservative Party leader Kemi Badenoch could not be there and sent shadow health secretary Stuart Andrew instead.

From BBC ● Jul. 29, 2026

If successfully erected, George B. Post’s Manufactures and Liberal Arts Building would be the largest building ever constructed and consume enough steel to build two Brooklyn Bridges.

From "The Devil in the White City" by Erik Larson

In their coalition agreement for governing the city, the Social Democrats and liberals pledged to expand public toilet provision and examine whether public toilets could be made free for everyone.

From Barron's ● Aug. 15, 2026

Five justices — Chief Justice John Roberts and Justice Amy Coney Barrett, along with the three liberals — upheld the constitutionality of the 14th Amendment’s citizenship clause.

From Salon ● Jul. 1, 2026

Justice Amy Coney Barrett and Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr. joined with the three liberals to form the majority.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 29, 2026

This doesn’t mean conservatives and liberals will agree in practice.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 2, 2026

An avowed critic of his government’s policies of apartheid, especially in sports, he was typical of South African liberals, who from time to time found themselves torn between conscience and patriotism.

From "Kaffir Boy: An Autobiography" by Mark Mathabane

Related Words

• broad
• flexible
• lenient
• loose
• relaxed