liberate
Americanverb (used with object)
-
to set free, as from imprisonment or bondage.
- Synonyms:
- loose, disenthrall, unfetter, deliver
-
to free (a nation or area) from control by a foreign or oppressive government.
-
to free (a group or individual) from social or economic constraints or discrimination, especially arising from traditional role expectations or bias.
-
to disengage; set free from combination, as a gas.
-
Slang. to steal or take over illegally.
The soldiers liberated a consignment of cigarettes.
verb
-
to give liberty to; make free
-
to release (something, esp a gas) from chemical combination during a chemical reaction
-
to release from occupation or subjugation by a foreign power
-
to free from social prejudices or injustices
-
euphemistic to steal
Related Words
See release.
Other Word Forms
- liberative adjective
- liberator noun
- liberatory adjective
- preliberate verb (used with object)
- reliberate verb (used with object)
- unliberated adjective
Etymology
Origin of liberate
First recorded in 1615–25; from Latin līberātus (past participle of līberāre “to free”), equivalent to līberā- verb stem + -tus past participle suffix. See liberal, -ate 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.
A US-based man identified by Cuba as one of those killed by its coast guard in a shootout had often spoken of wanting to liberate the communist island, a political ally told AFP on Thursday.
From Barron's
Ukrainian forces were able to liberate large areas of the north and parts of the south in 2022, but more recent counter-offensives have not had the same success.
From BBC
“It’s like playing a game with your friends. And it’s liberating for me, because I don’t have to think about selling tickets.”
From Los Angeles Times
His success in liberating deserving people who would otherwise be rotting away in prison—even if he was motivated only by vanity—suggests he may very well deserve the Nobel.
At the funeral for one of the last leaders of Kenya's Mau Mau resistance movement on Saturday, his daughter is bitter: he fought to liberate a country that never thanked him.
From Barron's
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.
