liberalism
the quality or state of being liberal, as in behavior or attitude.
a political or social philosophy advocating the freedom of the individual, parliamentary systems of government, nonviolent modification of political, social, or economic institutions to assure unrestricted development in all spheres of human endeavor, and governmental guarantees of individual rights and civil liberties.
(sometimes initial capital letter) the principles and practices of a liberal party in politics.
a movement in modern Protestantism that emphasizes freedom from tradition and authority, the adjustment of religious beliefs to scientific conceptions, and the development of spiritual capacities.
Origin of liberalism
1Other words from liberalism
- lib·er·al·ist, noun, adjective
- lib·er·al·is·tic, adjective
- an·ti·lib·er·al·ism, noun
- an·ti·lib·er·al·ist, noun, adjective
- an·ti·lib·er·al·is·tic, adjective
- non·lib·er·al·ism, noun
- sem·i·lib·er·al·ism, noun
Words Nearby liberalism
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
How to use liberalism in a sentence
The problem Breyer describes in his book is one at the heart of liberalism.
Justice Breyer’s new warning for Democrats couldn’t have come at a worse time | Ian Millhiser | May 29, 2021 | VoxThey came to believe New Deal liberalism was undermining American sovereignty and paving the way for Armageddon.
Breaking evangelical resistance to coronavirus vaccines will be hard | Matthew Sutton | May 21, 2021 | Washington PostThe second half of the 1960s was not kind to his brand of liberalism.
His liberalism was at heart a process not an ideology, his passion for change tempered by his faith in government institutions.
To do so, Mondale articulated a new, more tempered liberalism.
Sometimes democracy and liberalism are about speaking up about the great issues, like a massive foreign war.
A Few Great Men Too Many: Aaron Sorkin Doesn’t Think You Can Handle the Truth | Arthur Chu | December 21, 2014 | THE DAILY BEASTFrom its founding in 1914, The New Republic has been the flagship and forum of American liberalism.
Facebook Prince Purges The New Republic: Inside the Destruction of a 100-Year-Old Magazine | Lloyd Grove | December 5, 2014 | THE DAILY BEASTliberalism in the United States today is the politics that dares not speak its name.
American Dreams: How Bush Shaped Our Reading of Roth’s ‘The Plot Against America’ | Nathaniel Rich | November 23, 2014 | THE DAILY BEASTUsually, though, old-fashioned liberalism is very much at the fore in Puck.
The Magazine That Made—and Unmade—Politicians | Anthony Haden-Guest | November 2, 2014 | THE DAILY BEASTEven so, Maher has identified a problem within Western liberalism today.
Sir Graham took me up and we fell into a discussion of the changing qualities of liberalism.
The New Machiavelli | Herbert George WellsThis reunion of the Conservatives became the nucleus of a great reaction against liberalism.
In the Prussian parliament seventy-three members broke off from the rest, calling themselves Reaction against liberalism.
It is noticeable that in 1894 when this motion was introduced it was lost; a striking instance of the decay of liberalism.
You should first know what liberalism means, and then assure yourself that the thing itself is good.
The Prime Minister | Anthony Trollope
British Dictionary definitions for liberalism
/ (ˈlɪbərəˌlɪzəm, ˈlɪbrə-) /
liberal opinions, practices, or politics
a movement in modern Protestantism that rejects biblical authority
Derived forms of liberalism
- liberalist, noun, adjective
- liberalistic, adjective
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 liberalism
In the twentieth century, a viewpoint or ideology associated with free political institutions and religious toleration, as well as support for a strong role of government in regulating capitalism and constructing the welfare state (see also welfare state).
The New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy, Third Edition Copyright © 2005 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
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