liberal arts

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plural noun

the academic course of instruction at a college intended to provide general knowledge and comprising the arts, humanities, natural sciences, and social sciences, as opposed to professional or technical subjects.

(during the Middle Ages) studies comprising the quadrivium and trivium, including arithmetic, geometry, astronomy, music, grammar, rhetoric, and logic.

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Origin of liberal arts

1745–55; translation of Latin artēs līberālēs works befitting a free man

Words nearby liberal arts

libel tourist, liber, Libera, Liberace, liberal, liberal arts, Liberal Democrat, Liberal Democrats, liberal education, liberal elite, Liberalia

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use liberal arts in a sentence

Winning the OZY Genius Award brought the spotlight to New College, a small liberal arts school on Florida’s Gulf Coast, with local TV crews from ABC and NBC eager to interview the young inventor.
Meet the Inventor Who’s Taking Solar to the Next Level|Barbara Fletcher|July 27, 2021|Ozy
Studying political science in a liberal arts college was a way for me to figure out what is real.
Here's Why Chloé Zhao's Oscars Win Was Censored in China|Suyin Haynes|April 27, 2021|Time
One evening last month, two recent college grads — one from a conservative Christian college, the other from a more ecumenical liberal arts university — got together online with a group of their peers.
An innovative Georgetown lab looks to theater to quell political fires|Peter Marks|February 12, 2021|Washington Post
Students at the liberal arts school took a self-swab test monitored by a trained professional four times during this period, says John Weinstien, provost and vice president of Simon’s Rock.
Two very different colleges share how they kept COVID-19 off campus|Tara Santora|December 4, 2020|Popular-Science

Its downtown has a liberal arts college not far from a park full of veteran memorials along the edge of a rushing reservoir.
The Road to a Tied Election Runs Through Here|Nick Fouriezos|October 15, 2020|Ozy
Obviously, the first obligation of all liberal democratic governments is to enforce the rule of law.
Ayaan Hirsi Ali: Our Duty Is to Keep Charlie Hebdo Alive|Ayaan Hirsi Ali|January 8, 2015|DAILY BEAST
To be a liberal, you have to stand up for liberal principles.
Bill Maher: Hundreds of Millions of Muslims Support Attack on ‘Charlie Hebdo’|Lloyd Grove|January 8, 2015|DAILY BEAST
A hundred ultra-wealthy liberal and conservative donors have taken over the political system.
The 100 Rich People Who Run America|Mark McKinnon|January 5, 2015|DAILY BEAST
Liberal Democrats like to blow their bugles about how all the big money in politics comes from rich Republicans.
The 100 Rich People Who Run America|Mark McKinnon|January 5, 2015|DAILY BEAST
The election of 1964 produced the most liberal Congress since the Democratic landslide of 1936.
Thank Congress, Not LBJ for Great Society|Julian Zelizer, Scott Porch|January 4, 2015|DAILY BEAST
But the liberal soul deviseth liberal things, and by liberal things shall he stand.
The Life and Most Surprising Adventures of Robinson Crusoe, of York, Mariner (1801)|Daniel Defoe
She must be freed through the progress of Liberal ideas in France and Germany—not by her own inherent energies.
Glances at Europe|Horace Greeley
The first commencement of Union College for conferring degrees in the arts and sciences.
The Every Day Book of History and Chronology|Joel Munsell
Then he suddenly went in for politics and announced himself an uncompromising Liberal.
Ancestors|Gertrude Atherton
Joseph, with his liberal ideas, had attempted to free the people from clerical thraldom.
Napoleon's Marshals|R. P. Dunn-Pattison

British Dictionary definitions for liberal arts

liberal arts

pl n

the fine arts, humanities, sociology, languages, and literatureOften shortened to: arts

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

Cultural definitions for liberal arts (1 of 2)

liberal arts

The areas of learning that cultivate general intellectual ability rather than technical or professional skills. The term liberal arts is often used as a synonym for humanities, although the liberal arts also include the sciences. The word liberal comes from the Latin liberalis, meaning suitable for a free man, as opposed to a slave.

Cultural definitions for liberal arts (2 of 2)

liberal arts

The areas of learning that cultivate general intellectual ability rather than technical or professional skills. Liberal arts is often used as a synonym for humanities, because literature, languages, history, and philosophy are often considered the primary subjects of the liberal arts. The term liberal arts originally meant arts suitable for free people (libri in Latin) but not for slaves.

liberal arts

Origin of liberal arts

Words nearby liberal arts

Words related to liberal arts

How to use liberal arts in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for liberal arts

Cultural definitions for liberal arts (1 of 2)

Cultural definitions for liberal arts (2 of 2)