liberal

UK/ˈlɪb.(ə.)ɹəl/

More pronunciations (1)Fewer pronunciations

New Zealand/ˈləb.(ə.)ɹəl/

liberal adjective: generous; permitting liberty; willing to give unsparingly.

Adjective (1)

liberal (comparative more liberal, superlative most liberal)

Generous; permitting liberty; willing to give unsparingly.
- He was liberal with his compliments.
- Indeed, the Government has been very liberal in the expenditure of public money1899, J. M. Baltimore, “Pacific Coast Light Service”, in Overland Monthly, volume 33
Synonyms:

charitable, frolic, munificent, fouthy, free, openhanded, generous, giftful, giving, goodwilly

Antonyms:

authoritarian
Ample, abundant; generous in quantity.
- Add a liberal sprinkling of salt.
- For this reason a liberal amount of piping should be used. If a liberal supply of piping is provided at first, the first cost will of course be greater, but the extra expenditure is called for but once.1896, Ice and refrigeration, volume 11, page 93
Synonyms:

good-sized, hefty, prodigious, ample, big, exceeding, cosmic, bodacious, broad, commodious
Widely open to new ideas, willing to depart from established opinions or conventions; permissive.
- Her parents had liberal ideas about child-rearing.
Synonyms:

broad-minded, open-minded, tolerant, avuncular, catholic, forbearing, indulgent, latitudinarian, laissez faire, lenient

Antonyms:

close-minded, conservative
(obsolete) Unrestrained, licentious.
- Myself, my brother, and this grieved count,
  Did see her, hear her, at that hour last night,
  Talk with a ruffian at her chamber-window;
  Who hath indeed, most like a liberal villain,
  Confess'd the vile encounters they have had
  A thousand times in secret.1598–1599 (first performance), William Shakespeare, “Much Adoe about Nothing”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward]...
Synonyms:

easy, free, lustful, abandoned, common, fast, lascivious, lewd, libidinous, licentious
Pertaining to a type of education the purpose of which is to cultivate and develop wise, capable and well-rounded people who are thus free of mental constraint and hindrance.
- 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...1997, Gordon D. Morgan, Toward an American Sociology: Questioning the European Construct, →ISBN, page 45
(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; usually found in the phrase "liberal arts".
- He had a full education studying the liberal arts.
Open to political or social changes and reforms associated with either classical liberalism or "modern liberalism"/progressivism.
- Endorsing the liberal anti-interventionist credo that the marketplace should act as the "site of verification," the advocates of white lead opposed government intervention for the sake of open economic competition, which they claimed revealed its true value and thus should be the sole determinant...2021, Judith Rainhorn, The Colour of Controversy..., p. 10

Noun (1)

liberal (plural liberals)

One with liberal views, supporting individual liberty (see Wikipedia's article on Liberalism).
(Canadian, Philippine, US) Someone with progressive or left-wing views, especially on social and environmental issues.
- And I love Puerto Ricans and Negros
  As long as they don't move next door.
  So love me, love me, love me, I'm a liberal.1966, Phil Ochs, “Love Me, I'm a Liberal”
A supporter of any of several liberal parties.
(UK) One who favors individual voting rights, human and civil rights, and laissez-faire markets (also called "classical liberal"; compare libertarian).
(Australian) A conservative, especially a liberal conservative.

Noun (2) capitalized: Liberal

Liberal (plural Liberals)

A political party and philosophy
A member or supporter of a Liberal Party
(Canadian) A member or supporter of the Liberal Party of Canada, or its predecessors, or provincial equivalents, or their predecessors
(British) A Liberal Democrat.
(British, dated) A Whig.
(Australian) A member or supporter of the Liberal Party of Australia.

Adjective (2) capitalized: Liberal

Liberal (not comparable)

Of or relating to the Liberal party, its membership, or its platform, policy, or viewpoint.

Proper noun capitalized: Liberal

Liberal

An unincorporated community in Spencer County, Indiana, United States.
A city, the county seat of Seward County, Kansas, United States.
A small city in Barton County, Missouri, United States.
An unincorporated community in Clackamas County, Oregon, United States.

liberal meaning in Hindi, Tamil, Marathi and Urdu

liberal in Hindi

liberal: उदारवादी udārvādī, उदार udār

liberal in Tamil

தாராளமான, பரந்த மனமுடைய, முற்போக்கான, எழுவரல், முற்போக்குவாதி

liberal in Marathi

उदारमतवादी

liberal in Urdu

liberal: ادار udār

More languagesFewer languages

liberal in Bengali: উদারনীতিক দলের সভ্য, দরাজ, উদার, উদারনৈতিক
liberal in Telugu: ఈవరి īvari
liberal in Malayalam: വിശാലമനസ്കനായ, കൈയയച്ചുളള, യഥേഷ്ടമായ, പുരോഗമനവാദിയായ
liberal in Kannada: ಪ್ರಗತಿಪರ ವ್ಯಕ್ತಿ, ಉದಾರ ಅಭಿಪ್ರಾಯಗಳುಳ್ಳವನು, ಲಿಬರಲ್ ಪಕ್ಷದವನು, ಕೊಡುಗಯ್ಯ
liberal in Punjabi: ਉਦਾਰਵਾਦੀ, ਲਿਬਰਲ
liberal in Gujarati: ઉદારમતવાદી, ઉદારવાદી
liberal in Odia: ଦକ୍ଷିଣ dakṣiṇa
liberal in Sanskrit: मी॒ढ्वांस् mīḍhvā́ṃs
liberal in Nepali: उदारवादी, उदारमतवादी, उदारतावादी
liberal in Tagalog: malabusaw
liberal in Vietnamese: tụ do chủ nghĩa

Examples of liberal in a sentence

When he shows improvement she is liberal with her praise and then moves on to the next set of skills to be learnt.2005, John Gardner, Assessment and Learning, →ISBN, page 50:
Queen Isabella was already being called Santa Isabella by many of her subjects because she was liberal with her alms.2007, Helena Page Schrader, The English Templar, →ISBN, page 309:
Was it because the believers were so liberal with their possessions that God was so liberal with his grace?2010, Simon Guillebaud, More Than Conquerors: A Call to Radical Discipleship, →ISBN, page 142:
Now we are liberal with our innermost secrets, spraying them into the public ether with a generosity our forebears could not have imagined.2013 June 14, Jonathan Freedland, “Obama's once hip brand is now tainted”, in The Guardian Weekly, volume 189, number 1, page 18:

All 40 example sentences with liberal

Synonyms of liberal

30 more synonymsFewer synonyms

Antonyms

All synonyms and antonyms of liberal

Forms of liberal

Adjective
comparative	more liberal
superlative	most liberal
Noun
plural	liberals
plural	Liberals

Plural of liberal: liberals

Origin of liberal

The adjective is from Old French liberal, from Latin līberālis (“befitting a freeman”), from līber (“free”); it is attested since the 14th century. The noun is first attested in the 1800s.

Words formed from liberal

Words that rhyme with liberal

ordoliberal

Questions about liberal

What does liberal mean?: Liberal means generous; permitting liberty; willing to give unsparingly.
What is liberal in Hindi?: Liberal in Hindi is उदारवादी (udārvādī), उदार (udār). See Liberal meaning in Hindi.
How do you use liberal in a sentence?: When he shows improvement she is liberal with her praise and then moves on to the next set of skills to be learnt.
What part of speech is liberal?: Liberal can be an adjective, a noun or a proper noun.
How do you pronounce liberal?: Liberal is pronounced /ˈlɪb.(ə.)ɹəl/ (UK).

Words near liberal in the dictionary

Last updated: 2026-09-02

Pronunciation audio from Wikimedia Commons, each file under its own free license: en-us-liberal.ogg.

Cite this entry: “liberal.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/liberal. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.