liberalize
Americanverb (used with or without object)
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liberalizes,
present (3rd person singular)
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liberalized,
past participle, past
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liberalizing
present participle
verb
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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liberalizesimple
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liberalizessimple
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have liberalizedperfect
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has liberalizedperfect
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am liberalizingprogressive
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are liberalizingprogressive
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is liberalizingprogressive
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have been liberalizingperfect progressive
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has been liberalizingperfect progressive
Past
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liberalizedsimple
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had liberalizedperfect
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was liberalizingprogressive
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were liberalizingprogressive
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had been liberalizingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of liberalize
Explanation
Liberalize means to make more liberal––as in, less authoritarian and more open. State-run economies might liberalize by opening up industry, free enterprise, and trade. Liberalize can also mean "reform." If you have a society that punishes theft by cutting off a culprit's hand, you could liberalize it by changing the punishment to jail time or other less cruel and unusual punishment.
Vocabulary lists containing liberalize
"A Genetics of Justice" by Julia Alvarez
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lib, liber
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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.
See Examples For:
Cuban President Miguel Diaz-Canel on Friday announced greater freedoms for small businesses across the country, as the communist government takes steps to liberalize the island's economy in the face of a crippling US blockade.
From Barron's ● Jun. 12, 2026
It’s one of the bigger steps Beijing has taken to liberalize this system.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 4, 2026
“It’s hard to develop a world-class hub if you don’t liberalize the market.”
From Seattle Times ● Mar. 16, 2024
They grant airlines from both countries the right to operate in each other's countries, liberalize airline regulation and impose safety and security standards.
From Reuters ● Aug. 2, 2023
The net result of this thinking, I may at the beginning assert, has been to expand and liberalize my convictions concerning the art and technique of short-story writing.
From Atlantic Narratives Modern Short Stories by Elizabeth Ashe
As China liberalizes, some 5,000 miles away, the constraints relax and Ms. Chang sneaks off to enjoy a little Western decadence.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jan. 14, 2026
“These changes continue the long-term trend that liberalizes policies governing gender marker changes on identity documents,” said Jami Taylor, a political science professor at the University of Toledo and an expert on L.G.B.T. politics.
From New York Times ● Jun. 30, 2021
State Superintendent of Education John White says the changes will trim weekly out-of-pocket expenses for most low-income families by 60 percent, liberalizes eligibility rules and will be financed through a federal grant.
From Washington Times ● Jan. 7, 2016
The flow of funds out of China has accelerated recently, and the trend may continue as the government liberalizes capital markets and as Chinese businesses become more international and learn how to game the system.
From New York Times ● Aug. 11, 2012
For, as I interpret those sacred ideas, the cause of Christ and the Church is advanced by whatever liberalizes and enriches and enlarges the mind.
From The Atlantic Monthly, Volume 18, No. 107, September, 1866 by Various
Tobacco sales will also remain under government control while oil and mining operations will be liberalized, subject to state license.
From Barron's ● Jul. 29, 2026
Mao Zedong’s China has liberalized and integrated itself into the global economy.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 11, 2026
Attitudes on race, immigration, and gender have liberalized dramatically in recent decades, including among working-class whites.
From Salon ● May 21, 2024
Since 2016, the agency has liberalized its regulations to permit patients to consult a doctor through telemedicine and to obtain the pills without traveling to a clinic.
From Los Angeles Times ● Mar. 25, 2024
The irksome security provisions of May-Johnson were liberalized, with penalties reduced to maximum fines of $20,000 and prison terms of up to five years.
From "Big Science" by Michael Hiltzik
The State Bank of India estimates that liberalizing labor will goose up consumption and augment formal employment by at least 15%.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jan. 26, 2026
At the same time, he made great strides in deregulating the economy and liberalizing trade.
From Barron's ● Oct. 17, 2025
Meanwhile, Poland’s parliament held a long-awaited debate on liberalizing the country’s restrictive law last month — although many women terminate pregnancies at home with pills mailed from abroad.
From Seattle Times ● May 3, 2024
Collor was a dashing, liberalizing politician who became Brazil's first democratically elected president in 1989 after a two-decade military dictatorship, but he resigned three years later after the lower house of Congress impeached him.
From Reuters ● May 31, 2023
The Special Programs Unit's patron saint and the guiding spirit of the Navy's liberalizing race program was Lt.
From Integration of the Armed Forces, 1940-1965 by Morris J. MacGregor
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Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
