liberal

¹

[lib-er-uhl, lib-ruhl]

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.

noun

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

[lib-er-uhl, lib-ruhl]

noun

1. a city in SW Kansas.

Liberal

¹

/ ˈlɪbərəl, ˈlɪbrəl /

noun

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

adjective

1. of or relating to a Liberal Party

liberal

²

/ 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

noun

1. a person who has liberal ideas or opinions

liberal

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

Other Word Forms

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

Word History and Origins

Origin of liberal¹

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

Word History and Origins

Origin of liberal¹

C14: from Latin līberālis of freedom, from līber free

Synonym Study

See generous. See ample.

Example Sentences

That comes after the White House hosted a roundtable on Wednesday in which far-right influencers sought to link “antifa” to various acts of violence, as well as mainstream liberal organizations.

Read more on Salon

Classify me however you want—liberal/conservative, gentile/Jew—I am an American and will never be truly comfortable in any other place.

Read more on Wall Street Journal

“It feels very strange to be a liberal Jewish artist right now when you’re being painted as someone antithetical to wanting to end the war,” Bialik said in an interview.

Read more on Wall Street Journal

Generations of liberal nonprofits thereby learned that they could get what they wanted by administrative-state maneuvering and lawsuits.

Read more on Wall Street Journal

The compact codifies much of the conservative vision for higher education, seeking to rein in campuses that the right perceives as liberal, quick to squelch conservative viewpoints and favoring traditionally marginalized groups.

Read more on Wall Street Journal

Related Words

• broad 
• flexible 
• lenient 
• loose 
• relaxed 

When To Use

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.