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libertine

[ lib-er-teen, -tin ]
/ ˈlɪb ərˌtin, -tɪn /
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See synonyms for libertine on Thesaurus.com
noun
a person who is morally or sexually unrestrained, especially a dissolute man; a profligate; rake.
a freethinker in religious matters.
a person freed from slavery in ancient Rome.
adjective
free of moral, especially sexual, restraint; dissolute; licentious.
freethinking in religious matters.
Archaic. unrestrained; uncontrolled.
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Origin of libertine

1350–1400; Middle English libertyn<Latin lībertīnus of a freedman (adj.), freedman (noun), equivalent to lībert(us) freedman (apparently by reanalysis of liber-tāsliberty as libert-ās) + -īnus-ine1

Words nearby libertine

libero, libertarian, Libertas, liberté, égalité, fraternité, liberticide, libertine, libertinism, liberty, Liberty Bell, Liberty bodice, Liberty bond
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

Words related to libertine

freethinking, profligate, cyprian, debauchee, lecher, rake, satyr, sensualist, voluptuary, dissolute, immoral, lascivious, lecherous, lewd, libidinous, licentious, lustful, rakish, sensual, paillard

How to use libertine in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for libertine

libertine
/ (ˈlɪbəˌtiːn, -ˌtaɪn) /
noun
a morally dissolute person
adjective
morally dissolute

Derived forms of libertine

libertinage or libertinism, noun

Word Origin for libertine

C14 (in the sense: freedman, dissolute person): from Latin lībertīnus freedman, from lībertus freed, from līber free
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
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