Liberal
Definition, Meaning & Examples
Pronunciation /ˈlɪb.(ə.)ɹəl/ · Part of speech adjective
Quick meaning: Liberal is an adjective meaning Generous; permitting liberty; willing to give unsparingly.
Meaning
Generous; permitting liberty; willing to give unsparingly.
More Meanings
- Ample, abundant; generous in quantity.
- Widely open to new ideas, willing to depart from established opinions or conventions; permissive.
- (politics) Open to political or social changes and reforms associated with either classical or modern liberalism.
- One with liberal views, supporting individual liberty (see Wikipedia's article on Liberalism).
- (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.
- (US politics, Canadian politics, Philippine politics) Someone with progressive or left-wing views, especially on social and environmental issues.
- (obsolete) Unrestrained, licentious.
Example Sentences
He was liberal with his compliments.
He had a full education studying the liberal arts.
Indeed, the Government has been very liberal in the expenditure of public money
Was it because the believers were so liberal with their possessions that God was so liberal with his grace?
Word Forms
- liberals
Synonyms for liberal
Depending on context, synonyms include charitable, frolic, munificent, fouthy, free, generous.
Antonyms for liberal
Common opposites include authoritarian, close-minded, conservative.
Related Words
Related dictionary entries include progressive, neoliberal, reformist, liberalistic, welfarist, socialized.
Related Dictionary Tools
Sources & Attribution
FreeDictionaryAPI.com / Wiktionary · Original source · CC BY-SA 4.0
Dictionary data is provided by FreeDictionaryAPI.com and sourced from Wiktionary under its stated license.