liberation
Americannoun
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liberations
plural
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the act of liberating or the state of being liberated.
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the act or fact of gaining equal rights or full social or economic opportunities for a particular group.
noun
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a liberating or being liberated
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the seeking of equal status or just treatment for or on behalf of any group believed to be discriminated against
women's liberation
animal liberation
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Etymology
Origin of liberation
First recorded in 1400–50; late Middle English, from Latin līberātiōn-, stem of līberātiō; equivalent to liberate + -ion
Explanation
Liberation means the setting free of someone or something. Wild animals raised in captivity are often unprepared for their liberation when they are released back into the wild. You'll notice right off the bat that liberation is related to the noun liberty — as in "liberty and justice for all." The difference is that liberation refers specifically to the act of being made free, of going from having no freedom to having it. Famous moments of liberation include Europe's liberation from the Nazis, the slaves' liberation from slavery in the U.S., and South Africa's liberation from the oppression of apartheid.
Vocabulary lists containing liberation
Stargirl
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"Maus II: And Here My Troubles Began" by Art Spiegelman
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Passover Vocabulary
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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:
“This week was indicative of some restiveness and a desire among the base to see concrete policy for Palestinian liberation and quicker progress on some policing promises,” said Gordillo.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 9, 2026
“I hope to keep making records, but I also have the understanding that I have the freedom and liberation to be able to make a record and not necessarily worry about its commercial prospects.”
From Salon ● Sep. 18, 2026
While her work has caught the eye of celebrities like actors Jessica Alba and Christina Ricci, Rosales remains consistent in her vision, aesthetic and commitment to brown collectivity and liberation.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 9, 2026
North Korea leader Kim Jong Un and his daughter Kim Ju Ae are pictured on the Financial Times' front page attending a circus performance celebrating the 81st anniversary of Korea's liberation from Japanese rule.
From BBC ● Aug. 18, 2026
June 26 has since become a landmark day in the freedom struggle and within the liberation movement it is observed as Freedom Day.
From "Long Walk to Freedom" by Nelson Mandela
Indigenous communities - many disenchanted by years of unmet government promises - have long histories of occupations, which they call liberations.
From Reuters ● Sep. 30, 2022
“Notre-Dame is our history, our literature, part of our psyche, the place of all our great events, our epidemics, our wars, our liberations, the epicenter of our lives,” he said.
From Fox News ● Apr. 16, 2019
The head medic, Naseem Qasim, a thirty-three-year-old major with a master’s degree in microbiology, had served with the 9th Division throughout the liberations of Ramadi and Falluja, where he’d been shot in the hip.
From The New Yorker ● Jan. 29, 2017
It keeps the players connected to the liberations of fandom, their feeling of awe inside the music rather than ownership of it.
From Washington Post ● Dec. 24, 2014
And it was natural that he should consider fear as entirely inconvenient, treat it indeed with ingratitude, and dwell upon the immense liberations that lie beyond for those who will force themselves through its remonstrances....
From The Research Magnificent by H. G. (Herbert George) Wells
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.
