liberate

[lib-uh-reyt]

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR liberate ON THESAURUS.COM

verb (used with object), lib·er·at·ed, lib·er·at·ing.

to set free, as from imprisonment or bondage.

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.

Origin of liberate

1615–25; < Latin līberātus (past participle of līberāre to free), equivalent to līberā- verb stem + -tus past participle suffix. See liberal, -ate¹

Related formslib·er·a·tive, lib·er·a·to·ry

[lib-er-uh-tawr-ee, -tohr-ee] /ˈlɪb ər əˌtɔr i, -ˌtoʊr i/, adjectivelib·er·a·tor, nounpre·lib·er·ate, verb (used with object), pre·lib·er·at·ed, pre·lib·er·at·ing.re·lib·er·ate, verb (used with object), re·lib·er·at·ed, re·lib·er·at·ing.un·lib·er·at·ed, adjective

Synonyms for liberate

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR liberate ON THESAURUS.COM

1. deliver, unfetter, disenthrall, loose. See release.

Antonyms for liberate

1. imprison; enthrall.

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Related Words for liberated

save, rescue, free, redeem, detach, emancipate, loosen, disembarrass, loose, deliver, unbind, release, discharge, manumit, unhook, unchain, unshackle

Examples from the Web for liberated

Contemporary Examples of liberated

The liberated soul does not cease to act, to think, to create, to instigate revolutionary flows.
On Torture, Chuck Johnson & Sondheim
James Poulos
December 13, 2014
Suleimani, the commander of the Quds Force, was photographed in Amerli, after the town was liberated from ISIS.
Iran Orders Elite Troops: Lay Off U.S. Forces in Iraq
Eli Lake
October 6, 2014
August 27, 1944, and the troops of the Second Armored Division under the command of General Leclerc had just liberated Paris.
My Grandfather's War: Recovering the Art the Nazis Stole
Anne Sinclair
October 5, 2014
A bus driver in rebel-“liberated” Donetsk said he's seen more people travel from Mariupol lately to return to their homes.
On the Bus: Ukraine’s Frontline Express Across the Battle Lines
Ted Phillips
September 8, 2014
Azaz had long been a haven for the Free Syrian Army whose Northern Storm Brigade had liberated the town in July 2012.
Watching ISIS Come to Power Again
Elliot Ackerman
September 7, 2014

Historical Examples of liberated

We have known and boasted all along that they were the principles of a liberated mankind.
United States Presidents' Inaugural Speeches
Various
He was liberated after a week's imprisonment, but banished to his chateau at Verteuil.
Reflections
Francois Duc De La Rochefoucauld
Nevertheless, he has liberated a force that no gauge made by man can measure.
Jennie Baxter, Journalist
Robert Barr
We shouted for help, or to be liberated from our noisome prison.
Wilson's Tales of the Borders and of Scotland, Volume VI
Various
Puss had no sooner been liberated than she bounded out at the open door.
Adventures and Recollections
Bill o'th' Hoylus End

British Dictionary definitions for liberated

liberated

adjective

given liberty; freed; released

released from occupation or subjugation by a foreign power

(esp in feminist theory) not bound by traditional sexual and social roles

liberate

verb (tr)

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, or facetious to steal

Derived Formsliberator, noun

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

Word Origin and History for liberated

liberate

1620s, from Latin liberatus, past participle of liberare "set free," from liber "free" (see liberal). Meaning "to free an occupied territory from the enemy" (often used ironically) is from 1942. Related: Liberated; liberating.