Dictionary.com
definitions
  • synonyms

liberate

[lib-uh-reyt]
See more synonyms for liberate on Thesaurus.com
verb (used with object), lib·er·at·ed, lib·er·at·ing.
  1. to set free, as from imprisonment or bondage.
  2. to free (a nation or area) from control by a foreign or oppressive government.
  3. to free (a group or individual) from social or economic constraints or discrimination, especially arising from traditional role expectations or bias.
  4. to disengage; set free from combination, as a gas.
  5. Slang. to steal or take over illegally: The soldiers liberated a consignment of cigarettes.
Show More

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

See more synonyms for liberate on Thesaurus.com
1. deliver, unfetter, disenthrall, loose. See release.

Antonyms

1. imprison; enthrall.
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Examples from the Web for liberated

Contemporary Examples

Historical Examples

British Dictionary definitions for liberated

liberated

adjective
  1. given liberty; freed; released
  2. released from occupation or subjugation by a foreign power
  3. (esp in feminist theory) not bound by traditional sexual and social roles
Show More

liberate

verb (tr)
  1. to give liberty to; make free
  2. to release (something, esp a gas) from chemical combination during a chemical reaction
  3. to release from occupation or subjugation by a foreign power
  4. to free from social prejudices or injustices
  5. euphemistic, or facetious to steal
Show More
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

v.

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.

Show More
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper