liberal
1 Americanadjective
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favorable to progress or reform, as in political or religious affairs.
- Synonyms:
- progressive
- Antonyms:
- reactionary
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(often initial capital letter) noting or pertaining to a political party advocating measures of progressive political reform.
-
of, pertaining to, based on, or advocating liberalism, especially the freedom of the individual and governmental guarantees of individual rights and liberties.
-
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.
-
favoring or permitting freedom of action, especially with respect to matters of personal belief or expression.
a liberal policy toward dissident artists and writers.
-
of or relating to representational forms of government rather than aristocracies and monarchies.
-
free from prejudice or bigotry; tolerant.
a liberal attitude toward foreigners.
- Synonyms:
- unprejudiced, broad-minded
-
open-minded or tolerant, especially free of or not bound by traditional or conventional ideas, values, etc.
- Antonyms:
- intolerant
-
characterized by generosity and willingness to give in large amounts.
a liberal donor.
- Synonyms:
- lavish, unstinting, munificent, openhanded, charitable, beneficent
-
given freely or abundantly; generous.
a liberal donation.
-
not strict or rigorous; not literal; free.
a liberal interpretation of a rule.
-
of, relating to, or based on the liberal arts.
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of, relating to, or befitting a freeman.
noun
-
a person of liberal principles or views, especially in politics or religion.
-
(often initial capital letter) a member of a liberal party in politics, especially of the Liberal party in Great Britain.
noun
noun
adjective
adjective
-
relating to or having social and political views that favour progress and reform
-
relating to or having policies or views advocating individual freedom
-
giving and generous in temperament or behaviour
-
tolerant of other people
-
abundant; lavish
a liberal helping of cream
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not strict; free
a liberal translation
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of or relating to an education that aims to develop general cultural interests and intellectual ability
noun
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.
Related Words
Other Word Forms
- antiliberal adjective
- antiliberalness noun
- half-liberal adjective
- liberally adverb
- liberalness noun
- nonliberal adjective
- overliberal adjective
- preliberal adjective
- pseudoliberal adjective
- quasi-liberal adjective
- semiliberal adjective
- unliberal adjective
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
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.
Nearly everyone Davies interviewed abroad presumed Trader Joe’s has liberal connotations—though she’s learned this doesn’t necessarily track in the U.S. itself.
The deputy leader, Robbie Butler, is from the liberal wing of the party.
From BBC
I applied to liberal arts schools in rural areas because I wanted to experience country life.
Ms. Machado has built her career on a classical liberal vision for the country, and she’s popular.
German liberals wanted an expansive German state and a modern constitution.
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.
