Liberty
['lɪbətɪ] or ['lɪbɚti]
Definition
(noun.) freedom of choice; 'liberty of opinion'; 'liberty of worship'; 'liberty--perfect liberty--to think or feel or do just as one pleases'; 'at liberty to choose whatever occupation one wishes'.
(noun.) personal freedom from servitude or confinement or oppression.
Checker: Ophelia--From WordNet
Definition
(n.) The state of a free person; exemption from subjection to the will of another claiming ownership of the person or services; freedom; -- opposed to slavery, serfdom, bondage, or subjection.
(n.) Freedom from imprisonment, bonds, or other restraint upon locomotion.
(n.) A privilege conferred by a superior power; permission granted; leave; as, liberty given to a child to play, or to a witness to leave a court, and the like.
(n.) Privilege; exemption; franchise; immunity enjoyed by prescription or by grant; as, the liberties of the commercial cities of Europe.
(n.) The place within which certain immunities are enjoyed, or jurisdiction is exercised.
(n.) A certain amount of freedom; permission to go freely within certain limits; also, the place or limits within which such freedom is exercised; as, the liberties of a prison.
(n.) A privilege or license in violation of the laws of etiquette or propriety; as, to permit, or take, a liberty.
(n.) The power of choice; freedom from necessity; freedom from compulsion or constraint in willing.
(n.) A curve or arch in a bit to afford room for the tongue of the horse.
(n.) Leave of absence; permission to go on shore.
Typist: Melville
Synonyms and Synonymous
n. [1]. Freedom (after previous restraint), liberation from restraint, independence.[2]. Privilege, immunity, franchise.[3]. Leave, permission, license.
Typist: Yvette
Synonyms and Antonyms
SYN:Freedom, leave, independence, permission, privilege, license, franchise,immunity, insult, impropriety, volition, voluntariness, exemption
ANT:Slavery, servitude, restraint, constraint, submission, dependence, obligation,compulsion, deference, respect, considerateness, necessity, fatality,predestination
Editor: Upton
Definition
n. freedom to do as one pleases: the unrestrained enjoyment of natural rights: power of free choice: privilege: exemption: relaxation of restraint: the bounds within which certain privileges are enjoyed: freedom of speech or action beyond ordinary civility.—ns. Libertā′rian one who believes in free-will as opposed to necessity; Libertā′rianism the doctrine of the freedom of the will as opposed to necessitarianism; Liber′ticide a destroyer of liberty; Liber′tinage debauchery; Lib′ertine formerly one who professed free opinions esp. in religion: one who leads a licentious life a rake or debauchee.—adj. belonging to a freedman: unrestrained: licentious.—n. Lib′ertinism licentiousness of opinion or practice: lewdness or debauchery.—Liberty of indifference freedom of the will—because before action the will is undetermined as to acting or not acting; Liberty of the press liberty to print and publish without previous permission from government.—Cap of liberty (see Bonnet rouge under Bonnet); Religious liberty the right of thinking about religion or of worshipping as one likes.
Editor: Matt
Unserious Contents or Definition
n. One of Imagination's most precious possessions.
Checked by Clive
Examples
- We take the liberty of coming, my young companion and I, madam,' said Riah, 'on behalf of Lizzie Hexam. Charles Dickens. Our Mutual Friend.
- But liberty had been a useless gift to me had I not, as I awakened to reason, at the same time awakened to revenge. Mary Shelley. Frankenstein_Or_The Modern Prometheus.
- I found him in the hands of a faker, and took the liberty of running him just as he was sent over. Arthur Conan Doyle. The Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes.
- If so, it was a liberty that Rosamond resented; and she prepared herself to meet every word with polite impassibility. George Eliot. Middlemarch.
- If now considered in the light of a liberty, excuse it for the love of poor old days. Charles Dickens. Great Expectations.
- Liberty, it seems, thrives best in the woods. Benjamin Franklin. Memoirs of Benjamin Franklin.
- You want to be free and extraordinary, in an extraordinary world of liberty. D. H. Lawrence. Women in Love .
- My secret was out; and my only struggle now was for liberty and freedom. Charles Dickens. The Pickwick Papers.
- It is in vain to urge, that inanimate objects act without liberty and choice. David Hume. A Treatise of Human Nature.
- Excuse the liberty; but take care _how_ you talk to me. Jane Austen. Mansfield Park.
- I refused, as you can imagine, and asked my father how he could allow such a wretch to take such liberties with himself and his household. Arthur Conan Doyle. The Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes.
- On his return to Pennsylvania he again took his seat in this body, and continued a steady defender of the liberties of the people. Benjamin Franklin. Memoirs of Benjamin Franklin.
- I wants a end of these liberties took with my place. Charles Dickens. Bleak House.
- Profound doubts of the system of government and of the liberties of many forms of property in the economic system spread throughout the social body. H. G. Wells. The Outline of History_Being a Plain History of Life and Mankind.
- It's likely enough they took such liberties; I shouldn't wonder! Charles Dickens. Our Mutual Friend.
- He took great liberties with the Egyptian temples, and remained at Memphis opening ancient tombs and examining the dead bodies. H. G. Wells. The Outline of History_Being a Plain History of Life and Mankind.
- We may sometimes take greater liberties in November than in May. Jane Austen. Mansfield Park.
- It seemed to me that her mistress allowed her to take great liberties. Arthur Conan Doyle. The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes.
- He unwrapped no mummies as Cambyses had done; he took no liberties with Apis, the sacred bull of Memphis. H. G. Wells. The Outline of History_Being a Plain History of Life and Mankind.
- Never mind,' retorted Mr. Bolter; 'and don't yer take liberties with yer superiors, little boy, or yer'll find yerself in the wrong shop. Charles Dickens. Oliver Twist.
Checked by Annabelle