Definitions
from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.
- transitive verb To set free, as from oppression, confinement, or foreign control.
- transitive verb Chemistry To release (a gas, for example) from combination.
- transitive verb Slang To obtain by illegal or stealthy action.
from The Century Dictionary.
- noun In old English law, a writ issued out of Chancery for the payment of pensions and similar royal allowances; also, a writ issued to the sheriff for the delivery of land and goods taken upon forfeits of recognizance.
- To set free; release from restraint or bondage; deliver: as, to
liberate a slave or a prisoner; to liberate the mind from the shackles of prejudice. - To disengage; separate from something else: as, to
liberate a gas from a solid.
from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.
- transitive verb To release from restraint or bondage; to set at liberty; to free; to manumit; to disengage
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.
- verb transitive To
free ; to release fromrestraint orbondage ; to set atliberty ; tomanumit ; todisengage . - verb transitive, euphemistic To
steal orabscond with (something).
from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.
- verb grant freedom to
- verb release (gas or energy) as a result of a chemical reaction or physical decomposition
- verb grant freedom to; free from confinement
- verb give equal rights to; of women and minorities
Etymologies
from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License
Support
Help support Wordnik (and make this page ad-free) by adopting the word liberate.
Examples
-
He used the word liberate, that this is going to liberate Arlen Specter to work with us on health care.
-
But we were never the allies of the Athenians in their design of subjugating Hellas; we were really the allies of the Hellenes, whom we sought to liberate from the Persians.
The History of the Peloponnesian War Thucydides 2007
-
She delves into the language itself, a language she wants to liberate from the fetters of race.
-
Assuming that General Halleck will complete the work he has so successfully commenced, he will liberate from the forced pressure put upon it by the Secessionists the whole amount of loyal sentiment diffused through the Border States, and, from being held in abeyance, it will become dominant.
-
Liberal is derived from the word liberate, ... meaning "freedom", and I can ` t see anything wrong with being free to choose a liberal to the supreme court.
-
So we're going to fight over the use of the word liberate now?
RNC hits Obama over Auschwitz claim, Obama camp responds 2008
-
Because, as the president has said, particularly vis-a-vis Afghanistan, we did not go into Afghanistan to conquer; we went in to liberate, which is exactly how the people of Afghanistan reacted when they had their cities and their towns returned to them.
-
"Here are the very same people we had been sent to Iraq to liberate - in other words to help and get out of a bad situation." ...
-
The people who invented the modern piece were trying to "liberate" women from the underpinings of the former century and make something that could be worn with the new fashions.
Modest Feminine Dress From the Pages of 1990 Victoria Magazine 2009
-
It remained for the 20th century to "liberate" them from their good sense and their adequate clothing.
Modest Feminine Dress From the Pages of 1990 Victoria Magazine 2009
oroboros commented on the word liberate
LibEraTe
September 6, 2010