liberty
Also found in: Thesaurus, Legal, Acronyms, Idioms, Encyclopedia, Wikipedia.
lib·er·ty
(lĭb′ər-tē)n. pl. lib·er·ties
Idioms: 1. The condition of being free from confinement, servitude, or forced labor.
2.
a. The condition of being free from oppressive restriction or control by a government or other power.
b. A right to engage in certain actions without control or interference by a government or other power: the liberties protected by the Bill of Rights.
3. The right or power to act as one chooses: "Her upcountry isolation ... gave her the liberty to be what she wanted to be, free of the pressure of spotlights and literary fashions" (Lucinda Franks).
4. often liberties A deliberate departure from what is proper, accepted, or prudent, especially:
a. A breach or overstepping of propriety or social convention: "I'd leave her with a little kiss on the cheek—I never took liberties" (Harold Pinter).
b. A departure from strict compliance: took several liberties with the recipe.
c. A deviation from accepted truth or known fact: a historical novel that takes liberties with chronology.
d. An unwarranted risk; a chance: took foolish liberties on the ski slopes.
5. A period, usually short, during which a sailor is authorized to go ashore.
at liberty
1. Not in confinement or under constraint; free.
2. Entitled or permitted to do something: We found ourselves at liberty to explore the grounds.
take the liberty
To dare (to do something) on one's own initiative or without asking permission: I took the liberty to send you these pictures of my vacation.
[Middle English liberte, from Old French, from Latin lībertās, from līber, free; see leudh- in Indo-European roots.]
American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
liberty
(ˈlɪbətɪ)n, pl -ties
1. the power of choosing, thinking, and acting for oneself; freedom from control or restriction
2. the right or privilege of access to a particular place; freedom
3. (often plural) a social action regarded as being familiar, forward, or improper
4. (often plural) an action that is unauthorized or unwarranted in the circumstances: he took liberties with the translation.
5. (Nautical Terms)
a. authorized leave granted to a sailor
b. (as modifier): liberty man; liberty boat.
6. at liberty free, unoccupied, or unrestricted
7. take liberties to be overfamiliar or overpresumptuous (with)
8. take the liberty to venture or presume (to do something)
[C14: from Old French liberté, from Latin lībertās, from līber free]
Collins English Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged, 12th Edition 2014 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2014
lib•er•ty
(ˈlɪb ər ti)n., pl. -ties.
1. freedom from arbitrary or despotic government or control.
2. freedom from external or foreign rule; independence.
3. freedom from control, interference, obligation, restriction, etc.
4. freedom from captivity, confinement, or physical restraint.
5.
a. permission granted to a sailor to go ashore, usu. for less than 24 hours.
b. the time spent ashore.
6. freedom or right to frequent or use a place: The visitors were given the liberty of the city.
7. unwarranted or impertinent freedom in action or speech, or a form or instance of it: to take liberties.
8. a female figure personifying freedom from despotism.
Idioms: at liberty,
a. free from captivity or restraint.
b. free to do or be as specified.
[1325–75; Middle English liberte < Middle French < Latin lībertās=līber free + -tās -ty2]
Random House Kernerman Webster's College Dictionary, © 2010 K Dictionaries Ltd. Copyright 2005, 1997, 1991 by Random House, Inc. All rights reserved.
ThesaurusAntonymsRelated WordsSynonymsLegend:
Switch to new thesaurus
Noun | 1. | liberty - immunity from arbitrary exercise of authority: political independence independence, independency - freedom from control or influence of another or others |
2. | liberty - 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" freedom - the condition of being free; the power to act or speak or think without externally imposed restraints licence, license - freedom to deviate deliberately from normally applicable rules or practices (especially in behavior or speech) latitude - freedom from normal restraints in conduct; "the new freedom in movies and novels"; "allowed his children considerable latitude in how they spent their money" licence, license - excessive freedom; lack of due restraint; "when liberty becomes license dictatorship is near"- Will Durant; "the intolerable license with which the newspapers break...the rules of decorum"- Edmund Burke discretion - freedom to act or judge on one's own run - unrestricted freedom to use; "he has the run of the house" | |
3. | liberty - personal freedom from servitude or confinement or oppression freedom - the condition of being free; the power to act or speak or think without externally imposed restraints | |
4. | liberty - leave granted to a sailor or naval officer leave, leave of absence - the period of time during which you are absent from work or duty; "a ten day's leave to visit his mother" | |
5. | liberty - an act of undue intimacy |
Based on WordNet 3.0, Farlex clipart collection. © 2003-2012 Princeton University, Farlex Inc.
liberty
noun
1. independence, sovereignty, liberation, autonomy, immunity, self-determination, emancipation, self-government, self-rule Such a system would be a blow to the liberty of the people.
2. freedom, liberation, redemption, emancipation, deliverance, manumission, enfranchisement, unshackling, unfettering Three convictions meant three months' loss of liberty.
freedom restraint, constraint, slavery, imprisonment, captivity, tyranny, enslavement, restriction, duress
freedom restraint, constraint, slavery, imprisonment, captivity, tyranny, enslavement, restriction, duress
at liberty
take liberties or a liberty not show enough respect, show disrespect, act presumptuously, behave too familiarly, behave impertinently She knew she was taking a big liberty in doing this for him without his knowledge.
Quotations
"I know not what course others may take; but as for me, give me liberty, or give me death!" [Patrick Henry]
"Liberty is liberty, not equality or fairness or justice or human happiness or a quiet conscience" [Isaiah Berlin Two Concepts of Liberty]
"The tree of liberty must be refreshed from time to time with the blood of patriots and tyrants. It is its natural manure" [Thomas Jefferson]
"Liberty is precious - so precious that it must be rationed" [Lenin]
"Liberty means responsibility. That is why most men dread it" [George Bernard Shaw Man and Superman]
"Liberty too must be limited in order to be possessed" [Edmund Burke Letter to the Sheriffs of Bristol]
"The liberty of the individual must be thus far limited; he must not make himself a nuisance to other people" [John Stuart Mill On Liberty]
"I know not what course others may take; but as for me, give me liberty, or give me death!" [Patrick Henry]
"Liberty is liberty, not equality or fairness or justice or human happiness or a quiet conscience" [Isaiah Berlin Two Concepts of Liberty]
"The tree of liberty must be refreshed from time to time with the blood of patriots and tyrants. It is its natural manure" [Thomas Jefferson]
"Liberty is precious - so precious that it must be rationed" [Lenin]
"Liberty means responsibility. That is why most men dread it" [George Bernard Shaw Man and Superman]
"Liberty too must be limited in order to be possessed" [Edmund Burke Letter to the Sheriffs of Bristol]
"The liberty of the individual must be thus far limited; he must not make himself a nuisance to other people" [John Stuart Mill On Liberty]
Collins Thesaurus of the English Language – Complete and Unabridged 2nd Edition. 2002 © HarperCollins Publishers 1995, 2002
liberty
noun1. The state of not being in confinement or servitude:
2. The condition of being politically free:
The American Heritage® Roget's Thesaurus. Copyright © 2013, 2014 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
Translations
حُريَّة الكَلامحُريَّهحُريَّه، إطْلاق سَراح
svobodaopovážlivost
frihed
آزادی
vapaus
आज़ादी
sloboda
szabadság
frelsifrjálsræîivera nærgöngull; taka sér bessaleyfi
libertas
laisvėsleisti saupernelyg didelis laisvumas
brīvībafamiliaritātevaļība
libertate
opovážlivosť
svoboda
frihet
آزادی
liberty
[ˈlɪbətɪ]A. N
1. (= freedom) → libertad f
individual/personal liberty → libertad f individual/personal
to be at liberty (= free) → estar en libertad
to be at liberty to do sth → tener libertad para hacer algo, ser libre de hacer algo
I'm not at liberty to say who it was → no puedo decir quién fue
individual/personal liberty → libertad f individual/personal
to be at liberty (= free) → estar en libertad
to be at liberty to do sth → tener libertad para hacer algo, ser libre de hacer algo
I'm not at liberty to say who it was → no puedo decir quién fue
2. (= presumption, impertinence) → atrevimiento m
that was rather a liberty on his part → eso fue un atrevimiento por su parte
what a liberty! → ¡qué atrevimiento or descaro!
to take liberties with sb (= be cheeky) → tomarse libertades or demasiadas confianzas con algn; (sexually) → propasarse con algn
to take the liberty of doing sth → tomarse la libertad de hacer algo
that was rather a liberty on his part → eso fue un atrevimiento por su parte
what a liberty! → ¡qué atrevimiento or descaro!
to take liberties with sb (= be cheeky) → tomarse libertades or demasiadas confianzas con algn; (sexually) → propasarse con algn
to take the liberty of doing sth → tomarse la libertad de hacer algo
Collins Spanish Dictionary - Complete and Unabridged 8th Edition 2005 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1971, 1988 © HarperCollins Publishers 1992, 1993, 1996, 1997, 2000, 2003, 2005
liberty
[ˈlɪbərti] n (= freedom) → liberté f
to be at liberty [criminal] → être en liberté
to be at liberty to do sth → être libre de faire qch civil liberties
to be at liberty [criminal] → être en liberté
to be at liberty to do sth → être libre de faire qch civil liberties
(= presumption) → liberté f
to take the liberty of doing sth → prendre la liberté de faire qch
to take liberties → prendre des libertés
to take the liberty of doing sth → prendre la liberté de faire qch
to take liberties → prendre des libertés
Collins English/French Electronic Resource. © HarperCollins Publishers 2005
liberty
n
→ Freiheit f; individual liberty → die Freiheit des Einzelnen; basic liberties → Grundrechte pl; to set somebody at liberty → jdn auf freien Fuß setzen; to be at liberty (criminal etc) → frei herumlaufen; (= not busy) → Zeit haben; to be at liberty to do something (= be permitted) → etw tun dürfen; I am not at liberty to comment → es ist mir nicht gestattet, darüber zu sprechen; you are at liberty to go → es steht Ihnen frei zu gehen; is he at liberty to come? → darf er kommen?
(= presumptuous action, behaviour) I have taken the liberty of giving your name → ich habe mir erlaubt, Ihren Namen anzugeben; to take liberties with the truth → es mit der Wahrheit nicht so genau nehmen; to take liberties with somebody → sich jdm gegenüber Freiheiten herausnehmen; what a liberty! (inf) → so eine Frechheit!
Collins German Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged 7th Edition 2005. © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1980 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1997, 1999, 2004, 2005, 2007
liberty
[ˈlɪbətɪ] n → libertà f invliberty of conscience → libertà di coscienza
at liberty (not detained) → in libertà
to be at liberty to do sth → essere libero/a di fare qc
to take the liberty of doing sth → prendersi la libertà di fare qc, permettersi di fare qc
to take liberties → prendersi delle libertà
what a liberty! (fam) → come ti permetti? (or si permette? )
Collins Italian Dictionary 1st Edition © HarperCollins Publishers 1995
liberty
(ˈlibəti) noun1. freedom from captivity or from slavery. He ordered that all prisoners should be given their liberty.
2. freedom to do as one pleases. Children have a lot more liberty now than they used to.
3. (especially with take) too great freedom of speech or action. I think it was (taking) a liberty to ask her such a question!
ˈliberties noun plural privileges, rights etc. civil liberties.
take the liberty of to do without permission. I took the liberty of moving the papers from your desk – I hope you don't mind.
Kernerman English Multilingual Dictionary © 2006-2013 K Dictionaries Ltd.
liberty
n. libertad;
to be at ___ to → tener ___ para.
English-Spanish Medical Dictionary © Farlex 2012