civil liberties

Noun

civil liberties pl (normally plural, singular civil liberty)

1. (plural, plural-normally) Civil rights and freedoms such as the freedom from enslavement, freedom from torture, and right to a fair trial.
   • Observations on the nature of civil liberty, the principles of government, and the justice and policy of the war with America [book title].1776, Richard Price, Observations on the Nature of Civil Liberty, the Principles of Government, and the Justice and Policy of the War with America, London: Printed for T[homas] Cadell, →OCLC
   • Civil liberty is liberty in a state of society; that is, in a state of union with equals; consequently, limitation of self-determination is one of the necessary characteristics of civil liberty.1888, Francis Lieber, edited by Theodore D[wight] Woolsey, On Civil Liberty and Self-government, 3rd, rev. edition, Philadelphia, Pa.: J. B. Lippincott Company, →OCLC, page 28