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liberal

/ˈlɪb.(ə.)ɹəl/noun, adjective3 syllables

Liberal means: tolerant of change; not bound by authoritarianism, orthodoxy, or tradition.

Synonyms for liberal28

noun, as in a person who favors a political philosophy of progress and reform and the protection of civil liberties

liberalist, progressive

adjective, as in tolerant of change; not bound by authoritarianism, orthodoxy, or tradition

civil-libertarian, liberalistic, neoliberal, progressive, reformist, reform-minded, socialized, socialised, welfarist, welfare-statist, left

adjective, as in given or giving freely

big, bighearted, bounteous, bountiful, freehanded, handsome, giving, openhanded, generous

adjective, as in showing or characterized by broad-mindedness

broad, large-minded, tolerant, broad-minded

adjective, as in not literal

free, loose, inexact

adjective, as in having political or social views favoring reform and progress

left

Opposites of liberal

conservative

What does liberal mean?7

adjective

1

tolerant of change; not bound by authoritarianism, orthodoxy, or tradition

2

given or giving freely“was a big tipper”

3

showing or characterized by broad-mindedness“a broad political stance”

4

not literal“a loose interpretation of what she had been told”

5

having political or social views favoring reform and progress

noun

1

a person who favors a political philosophy of progress and reform and the protection of civil liberties

2

a person who favors an economic theory of laissez-faire and self-regulating markets

Definitions from the Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.

What rhymes with liberal?1

five syllables

neoliberal
Show 27 near rhymes
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Liberal in a sentence

  • In liberalism you can do anything, you just can't be non-liberal.maaster
  • He is liberal with his money and buys a lot of presents.CK
  • The publishers of that newspaper are very liberal._undertoad
  • He isn't a liberal in the classic sense of the word.glossboss
  • He is an extremely liberal politician who vehemently attacks everybody who thinks differently.maaster
  • Do you consider yourself a liberal or a conservative?Just_Balls
  • Fascists are enabled by liberals' preference for abstractions over people.shekitten
  • There is often a weird self-loathing going on among white liberals.unknown

Sentences from Tatoeba, CC BY 2.0 FR, credited to their authors.

Forms of liberal

as a noun

plural
liberals