liberty

¹

[lib-er-tee]

noun

plural

liberties 

1. freedom from arbitrary or despotic government or control.

2. freedom from external or foreign rule; independence.

3. freedom from control, interference, obligation, restriction, hampering conditions, etc.; power or right of doing, thinking, speaking, etc., according to choice.

4. freedom from captivity, confinement, or physical restraint.

   The prisoner soon regained his liberty.

   Synonyms: liberation

5. permission granted to a sailor, especially in the navy, to go ashore.

6. freedom or right to frequent or use a place.

   The visitors were given the liberty of the city.

   Synonyms: immunity, privilege, license, permission, franchise

7. unwarranted or impertinent freedom in action or speech, or a form or instance of it.

   to take liberties.

8. a female figure personifying freedom from despotism.

Liberty

²

[lib-er-tee]

noun

1. a town in W Missouri.

liberty

/ ˈlɪbətɪ /

noun

1. the power of choosing, thinking, and acting for oneself; freedom from control or restriction

2. the right or privilege of access to a particular place; freedom

3. (often plural) a social action regarded as being familiar, forward, or improper

4. (often plural) an action that is unauthorized or unwarranted in the circumstances

   he took liberties with the translation

5. 1. authorized leave granted to a sailor

   2. ( as modifier )

      liberty man

      liberty boat

6. free, unoccupied, or unrestricted

7. to be overfamiliar or overpresumptuous (with)

8. to venture or presume (to do something)

Word History and Origins

Origin of liberty¹

First recorded in 1325–75; Middle English liberte, from Middle French, from Latin lībertāt-, stem of lībertās, equivalent to līber “free” + -tās -ty ²

Word History and Origins

Origin of liberty¹

C14: from Old French liberté, from Latin lībertās, from līber free

Idioms and Phrases

Idioms

1. at liberty,

   1. free from captivity or restraint.

   2. unemployed; out of work.

   3. free to do or be as specified.

      You are at liberty to leave at any time during the meeting.

see at liberty; take the liberty of.

Synonym Study

See freedom.

Example Sentences

“My job is to be a voice for 200,000 people and to maximize their freedom and their liberty,” he said.

Read more on Salon

If we allow this White House to curtail religious liberties now, we’ll invite even more significant erosion of our rights.

Read more on Salon

An ex-footballer with dementia who died after falling from a height had been "chemically coshed, deprived of his liberty, abused and bruised... stripped of his dignity" while in NHS care, his family said.

Read more on BBC

There are at least 53 scam compounds in the country where organised criminal groups carry out human trafficking, forced labour, torture, deprivation of liberty and slavery, according to the organisation.

Read more on Barron's

The separation of powers provides safeguards against threats to liberty stemming from the accumulation of powers in any single man or institution.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal