liberal
/ˈlɪb.(ə.)ɹəl/ adjective, noun, proper noun
Forms liberals
- adjective Generous; permitting liberty; willing to give unsparingly. “He was liberal with his compliments.”
- adjective Ample, abundant; generous in quantity. “Add a liberal sprinkling of salt.”
- adjective Widely open to new ideas, willing to depart from established opinions or conventions; permissive. “Her parents had liberal ideas about child-rearing.”
- adjective (obsolete) Unrestrained, licentious.
- adjective 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.
- adjective (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.”
- adjective (politics) Open to political or social changes and reforms associated with either classical liberalism or "modern liberalism"/progressivism.
- noun One with liberal views, supporting individual liberty (see Wikipedia's article on Liberalism).
- noun (US politics, Canadian politics, Philippine politics) Someone with progressive or left-wing views, especially on social and environmental issues.
- noun (politics) A supporter of any of several liberal parties.
- noun (UK politics) One who favors individual voting rights, human and civil rights, and laissez-faire markets (also called "classical liberal"; compare libertarian).
- noun (Australian politics) A conservative, especially a liberal conservative.
- noun (politics) A political party and philosophy
- noun (politics) A member or supporter of a Liberal Party
- noun (Canadian politics) A member or supporter of the Liberal Party of Canada, or its predecessors, or provincial equivalents, or their predecessors
- noun (British politics) A Liberal Democrat.
- noun (British politics, dated) A Whig.
- noun (Australian politics) A member or supporter of the Liberal Party of Australia.
- adjective Of or relating to the Liberal party, its membership, or its platform, policy, or viewpoint.
- proper noun An unincorporated community in Spencer County, Indiana, United States.
Synonyms
charitable frolic munificent fouthy free openhanded generous giftful giving goodwilly handsome jannock open-handed good-sized hefty prodigious ample big exceeding cosmic liberalist progressive broad large-minded tolerant bighearted bounteous bountiful freehanded loose
Antonyms
Etymology
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.
Webster’s 1913
- adjective Free by birth; hence, befitting a freeman or gentleman; refined; noble; independent; free; not servile or mean; as, a liberal ancestry; a liberal spirit; liberal arts or studies. " Liberal education." Macaulay. " A liberal tongue." Shak.
- adjective Bestowing in a large and noble way, as a freeman; generous; bounteous; open-handed; as, a liberal giver. " Liberal of praise." Bacon.
- noun One who favors greater freedom in political or religious matters; an opponent of the established systems; a reformer; in English politics, a member of the Liberal party, so called. Cf. Whig.
Etymology [F. libéral, L. liberalis, from liber free; perh. akin to libet, lubet,it pleases, E. lief. Cf. Deliver.]
Sources: Wiktionary · WordNet 3.0 · Webster’s 1913 — from the Wiktionary entry “liberal”, CC BY-SA 4.0. Details