Liberal

/ˈlɪb.(ə.)ɹəl/ · adjective

Meaning

(now rare outside set phrases) Pertaining to those arts and sciences the study of which is considered to provide general knowledge, as opposed to vocational/occupational, technical or mechanical training..

Definitions by Sense

1. (now rare outside set phrases) Pertaining to those arts and sciences the study of which is considered to provide general knowledge, as opposed to vocational/occupational, technical or mechanical training.
2. Generous; permitting liberty; willing to give unsparingly.
3. Ample, abundant; generous in quantity.
4. (obsolete) Unrestrained, licentious.
5. Widely open to new ideas, willing to depart from established opinions or conventions; permissive.
6. (politics) Open to political or social changes and reforms associated with either classical or modern liberalism.
7. One with liberal views, supporting individual liberty (see Wikipedia's article on Liberalism).
8. (US politics, Canadian politics, Philippine politics) Someone with progressive or left-wing views, especially on social and environmental issues.

Example Sentences

He had a full education studying the liberal arts.

Americans remain enamored with Europe's ability to produce the consequential thought for America. It was the same in nearly every liberal field. Education sought its roots in such Europeans as Froebel, Frobenius, and Rousseau. Political science tried to connect to Thomas Hobbes, John Locke, Nietzsche, Machiavelli, and Otto von Bismarck, for instance. Economics copied the thought of Adam Smith, […]

He was liberal with his compliments.

Indeed, the Government has been very liberal in the expenditure of public money

When he shows improvement she is liberal with her praise and then moves on to the next set of skills to be learnt.

Queen Isabella was already being called Santa Isabella by many of her subjects because she was liberal with her alms.

Was it because the believers were so liberal with their possessions that God was so liberal with his grace?

Now we are liberal with our innermost secrets, spraying them into the public ether with a generosity our forebears could not have imagined. Where we once sent love letters in a sealed envelope, or stuck photographs of our children in a family album, now such private material is despatched to servers and clouds operated by people we don't know and will never meet.

Synonyms for liberal

Antonyms for liberal

Related Words

Word Forms

• more liberal
• most liberal
• liberals

Usage Notes

Choose a synonym only when it preserves the intended meaning, tone, and grammar of the full sentence.

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