liberal

Also found in: Thesaurus, Financial, Idioms, Encyclopedia, Wikipedia.

Related to liberal: Liberal Party, conservative, Liberal democracy

lib·er·al

(lĭb′ər-əl, lĭb′rəl)

adj.

a. Favoring reform, open to new ideas, and tolerant of the ideas and behavior of others; not bound by traditional thinking; broad-minded. See Synonyms at broad-minded.

b. Of, relating to, or characteristic of liberalism.

c. Liberal Of, designating, or characteristic of a political party founded on or associated with principles of social and political liberalism, especially in Great Britain, Canada, and the United States.

a. Tending to give freely; generous: a liberal benefactor.

b. Generous in amount; ample: a liberal serving of potatoes.

3. Not strict or literal; loose or approximate: a liberal translation.

4. Of, relating to, or based on the traditional arts and sciences of a college or university curriculum: a liberal education.

a. Archaic Permissible or appropriate for a person of free birth; befitting a lady or gentleman.

b. Obsolete Morally unrestrained; licentious.

1. A person with liberal ideas or opinions.

2. Liberal A member of a Liberal political party.

[Middle English, generous, from Old French, from Latin līberālis, from līber, free; see leudh- in Indo-European roots.]

lib′er·al·ly adv.

lib′er·al·ness n.

Synonyms: liberal, freehanded, generous, munificent, openhanded
These adjectives mean willing or marked by a willingness to give unstintingly: a liberal backer of the arts; a freehanded host; a generous donation; a munificent gift; fond and openhanded grandparents.

Antonym: stingy

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.

liberal

(ˈlɪbərəl; ˈlɪbrəl)

adj

1. (Government, Politics & Diplomacy) relating to or having social and political views that favour progress and reform

2. (Government, Politics & Diplomacy) relating to or having policies or views advocating individual freedom

3. giving and generous in temperament or behaviour

4. tolerant of other people

5. abundant; lavish: a liberal helping of cream.

6. not strict; free: a liberal translation.

7. (Education) of or relating to an education that aims to develop general cultural interests and intellectual ability

(Government, Politics & Diplomacy) a person who has liberal ideas or opinions

[C14: from Latin līberālis of freedom, from līber free]

ˈliberally adv

ˈliberalness n

Liberal

(ˈlɪbərəl; ˈlɪbrəl)

(Government, Politics & Diplomacy) a member or supporter of a Liberal party or Liberal Democrat party

adj

(Government, Politics & Diplomacy) of or relating to a Liberal party or Liberal Democrat party

Collins English Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged, 12th Edition 2014 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2014

lib•er•al

(ˈlɪb ər əl, ˈlɪb rəl)

adj.

1. favorable to progress or reform, as in political or religious affairs.

2. (often cap.) designating or pertaining to a political party advocating measures of progressive political reform.

3. pertaining to, based on, or having views or policies advocating individual freedom of action and expression.

4. of or pertaining to representational forms of government rather than aristocracies and monarchies.

5. free from prejudice or bigotry; tolerant.

6. free of or not bound by traditional or conventional ideas, values, etc.; open-minded.

7. characterized by generosity and willingness to give in large amounts.

8. given freely or abundantly; generous.

9. not strict or rigorous; free; not literal: a liberal interpretation of a rule.

10. of, pertaining to, or based on the liberal arts: a liberal education.

11. a person of liberal principles or views.

12. (often cap.) a member of a liberal political party, esp. the Liberal Party in Great Britain.

[1325–75; Middle English < Latin līberālis of free men, generous =līber free + -ālis -al¹]

lib′er•al•ly, adv.

lib′er•al•ness, n.

syn: See generous.

ThesaurusAntonymsRelated WordsSynonymsLegend:

Switch to new thesaurus

Noun	1.	liberal - a person who favors a political philosophy of progress and reform and the protection of civil liberties liberalist, progressive adult, grownup - a fully developed person from maturity onward armchair liberal - a person of liberal ideals who takes no action to realize them latitudinarian - a person who is broad-minded and tolerant (especially in standards of religious belief and conduct) neoliberal - a liberal who subscribes to neoliberalism pluralist - someone who believes that distinct ethnic or cultural or religious groups can exist together in society Whig - a member of the political party that urged social reform in 18th and 19th century England; was the opposition party to the Tories conservative, conservativist - a person who is reluctant to accept changes and new ideas
	2.	liberal - a person who favors an economic theory of laissez-faire and self-regulating markets adult, grownup - a fully developed person from maturity onward
Adj.	1.	liberal - showing or characterized by broad-mindedness; "a broad political stance"; "generous and broad sympathies"; "a liberal newspaper"; "tolerant of his opponent's opinions" large-minded, tolerant, broad broad-minded - inclined to respect views and beliefs that differ from your own; "a judge who is broad-minded but even-handed"
	2.	liberal - having political or social views favoring reform and progress left - of or belonging to the political or intellectual left
	3.	liberal - tolerant of change; not bound by authoritarianism, orthodoxy, or tradition left - of or belonging to the political or intellectual left conservative - resistant to change
	4.	liberal - given or giving freely; "was a big tipper"; "the bounteous goodness of God"; "bountiful compliments"; "a freehanded host"; "a handsome allowance"; "Saturday's child is loving and giving"; "a liberal backer of the arts"; "a munificent gift"; "her fond and openhanded grandfather" bighearted, bounteous, bountiful, giving, openhanded, handsome, freehanded, big generous - willing to give and share unstintingly; "a generous donation"
	5.	liberal - not literal; "a loose interpretation of what she had been told"; "a free translation of the poem" loose, free inexact - not exact

liberal

adjective

1. tolerant, enlightened, open-minded, permissive, advanced, catholic, humanitarian, right-on (informal), indulgent, easy-going, unbiased, high-minded, broad-minded, unprejudiced, unbigoted, politically correct or PC She is known to have liberal views on abortion and contraception.
tolerant intolerant, prejudiced, biased, bigoted

2. progressive, radical, reformist, libertarian, advanced, right-on (informal), forward-looking, humanistic, free-thinking, latitudinarian, politically correct or PC a liberal democracy with a multiparty political system
progressive conservative, right-wing, reactionary

3. abundant, generous, handsome, lavish, ample, rich, plentiful, copious, bountiful, profuse, munificent She made liberal use of her older sister's make-up and clothes.
abundant small, limited, inadequate

4. generous, kind, charitable, extravagant, free-handed, prodigal, altruistic, open-hearted, bountiful, magnanimous, open-handed, unstinting, beneficent, bounteous They thanked him for his liberal generosity.
generous mean, stingy, cheap

5. flexible, general, broad, rough, free, loose, lenient, not close, inexact, not strict, not literal a liberal translation
flexible fixed, strict, literal, inflexible

Quotations
"conservative: a statesman who is enamoured of existing evils, as distinguished from the Liberal, who wishes to replace them with others" [Ambrose Bierce The Devil's Dictionary]

Collins Thesaurus of the English Language – Complete and Unabridged 2nd Edition. 2002 © HarperCollins Publishers 1995, 2002

liberal

adjective

1. Not narrow or conservative in thought, expression, or conduct:

broad, broad-minded, open-minded, progressive, tolerant.

2. Favoring civil liberties and social progress:

liberalistic, progressive.

3. Characterized by bounteous giving:

free, freehanded, generous, handsome, lavish, munificent, openhanded, unsparing, unstinting.

noun

A person with liberal political opinions:

liberalist, progressive.

Translations

عُضْو في حِزب الأحْراركَريم، سَخيمُتَحَرِرٌمُتَساهِل، مُتَسامِح

liberálníštědrýliberál

liberalrundhåndetfrisindetgenerøs

liberal

φιλελεύθερος

liberal abundante generoso

vapaamielinen

libéral tolérant généreux

liberalan

liberális

örlátur, ríkulegurumburîarlyndur

liberale generoso

リベラルな

자유주의의

liberalasliberalustolerantiškaitolerantiškumas

augstsirdīgsbez aizspriedumiembrīvi domājošsdevīgsliberāls

liberálliberálny

liberal

เกี่ยวกับลัทธิเสรีนิยม

açık görüşlü anlayışlı cömert eli açık hoşgörülü

tự do

自由主义的大方的宽宏大度的开放的开明的

liberal

[ˈlɪbərəl]

A. ADJ

1. (= tolerant) [person, view, education, regime] → liberal

2. (= generous) [quantity, amount] → abundante, generoso; [portion] → generoso
to be liberal with sth → ser generoso con algo
he is very liberal with his money → es muy generoso con el dinero
she was rather liberal with the mayonnaise → puso mucha mayonesa
he is not liberal with his praise → no es muy pródigo con los elogios

3. (Brit) (Pol) (= of the Liberal Party) Liberal [MP] → del partido liberal; [government, policy] → liberal

4. (= free) [interpretation, translation] → libre

B. N

1. (= broad-minded person) → liberal mf

2. (Brit) (Pol) Liberal → liberal mf

C. CPD the liberal arts NPL (esp US) (Univ) → las humanidades, las artes liberales
Liberal Democrat N (Brit) (Pol) → demócrata mf liberal
the Liberal Democratic Party N (Brit) → el Partido Democrático Liberal
the Liberal Party N (Brit) → el Partido Liberal
liberal studies NPL (esp Brit) asignatura de letras complementaria para aquellos que estudian ciencias

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

Liberal

[ˈlɪb^ərəl]

n → libéral(e) m/f

adj → libéral(e)

adv
to vote Liberal → voter libéral

liberal

[ˈlɪb^ərəl]

adj

(= tolerant) [person] → tolérant(e); [attitude] → libéral(e); [régime, society] → libéral(e); [education] → libéral(e)

(= generous) liberal amounts of sth → de généreuses quantités de qch
to be liberal with sth → être prodigue de qch
to make liberal use of sth → faire un usage généreux de qch

n → libéral(e)liberal arts (US)

npl → arts mpl libéraux

modif [college] → d'arts libéraux; [course, degree] → en arts libérauxLiberal Democrat n → libéral(e)-démocrate m/f
the Liberal Democrats → les libéraux-démocrates

Collins English/French Electronic Resource. © HarperCollins Publishers 2005

liberal

adj

(= generous) offer, supply → großzügig; helping of food → reichlich; to be liberal with one’s praise/comments → mit Lob/seinen Kommentaren freigebig sein; to be liberal with one’s money → mit seinem Geld großzügig umgehen

(= broad-minded) → liberal

(Pol) → liberal; the Liberal Party (Brit Hist, in Canada) → die Liberale Partei

(Pol) → Liberale(r) mf

(= liberal-minded person) → Liberalgesinnte(r) mf; he’s a liberal in social matters → er hat eine liberale Einstellung in sozialen Angelegenheiten

liberal

liberal arts

pl the liberal (esp US) → die geisteswissenschaftlichen Fächer

liberal democracy

n (Pol) → freiheitliche Demokratie

Liberal Democrat (Brit Pol)

n → Liberaldemokrat(in) m(f)

adj → liberaldemokratisch; gain, loss, policy → der Liberaldemokraten; the liberal Party → die liberaldemokratische Partei

liberal education

n → Allgemeinbildung f

liberal

liberal-minded

adj person → liberal (eingestellt); views, country → liberal

liberal-mindedness

n (of person) → liberale Einstellung or Gesinnung; (of views) → Liberalität f

liberal studies

pl (esp US) → Geisteswissenschaften pl

Collins German Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged 7th Edition 2005. © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1980 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1997, 1999, 2004, 2005, 2007

Liberal

[ˈlɪb/ər/əl] n (Pol) → liberale m/f

liberal

[ˈlɪb/ər/əl] adj (generous) → liberale, generoso/a; (views) → liberale
to be liberal with → essere prodigo/a di

liberal

(ˈlibərəl) adjective

1. generous. She gave me a liberal helping of apple pie; She was very liberal with her money.

2. tolerant; not criticizing or disapproving. The headmaster is very liberal in his attitude to young people.

3. (also noun) (especially with capital) in politics, (a person belonging to a party) favouring liberty for the individual.

libeˈrality (-ˈrӕ-) noun

ˈliberally adverb

liberal

→ مُتَحَرِرٌ liberální liberal liberal φιλελεύθερος liberal vapaamielinen libéral liberalan liberale リベラルな 자유주의의 liberaal liberal liberalny liberal либеральный liberal เกี่ยวกับลัทธิเสรีนิยม açık görüşlü tự do 自由主义的

References in classic literature ?

Liberalism has just as much right to exist as has the most moral conservatism; but I am attacking RUSSIAN liberalism; and I attack it for the simple reason that a Russian liberal is not a Russian liberal, he is a non-Russian liberal.

View in context

Stepan Arkadyevitch took in and read a liberal paper, not an extreme one, but one advocating the views held by the majority.

View in context

It happened, while we lay in the bleaching grounds, that one half of the piece extended into a part of the field that came under the management of a legitimist, while the other invaded the dominions of a liberal. Neither of these persons had any concern with us, we being under the special superintendence of the head workman, but it was impossible, altogether impossible, to escape the consequences of our locales.

View in context

According to their accounts a reaction took place at that time in Russia also, and the chief culprit was Alexander I, the same man who according to them was the chief cause of the liberal movement at the commencement of his reign, being the savior of Russia.

View in context

This apparent unconcern explained her son's refusal to make a sacrifice for this marriage of his LIBERAL opinions,--the term "liberal" having lately been created for the Emperor Alexander by, I think, Madame de Stael, through the lips of Benjamin Constant.

View in context

233), and the subsequent years when in Continental Europe despotic government reasserted itself and sternly suppressed liberal hopes and uprisings, while in England liberalism and democracy steadily and doggedly gathered force until by the Reform Bill of 1832 political power was largely transferred from the former small governing oligarchy to the middle class.

View in context

Her orders were indeed so liberal, that, had it been a child of her own, she could not have exceeded them; but, lest the virtuous reader may condemn her for showing too great regard to a base-born infant, to which all charity is condemned by law as irreligious, we think proper to observe that she concluded the whole with saying, "Since it was her brother's whim to adopt the little brat, she supposed little master must be treated with great tenderness.

View in context

He called the next morning, no doubt with a liberal proposal for extending the engagement beyond Derby and Nottingham.

View in context

He served out some grog with a liberal hand, And bade them sit down on the beach: And they could not but own that their Captain looked grand, As he stood and delivered his speech.

View in context

I infinitely prefer the tender and liberal spirit of Mainwaring, which, impressed with the deepest conviction of my merit, is satisfied that whatever I do must be right; and look with a degree of contempt on the inquisitive and doubtful fancies of that heart which seems always debating on the reasonableness of its emotions.

View in context

And amongst those arts, there is none better than that which Plinius Secundus speaketh of, which is to be liberal of praise and commendation to others, in that, wherein a man's self hath any perfection.

View in context

As there is one end common to a man both as an individual and a citizen, it is evident that a good man and a good citizen must have the same object in view; it is evident that all the virtues which lead to rest are necessary; for, as we have often said, the end of war is peace, of labour, rest; but those virtues whose object is rest, and those also whose object is labour, are necessary for a liberal life and rest; for we want a supply of many necessary things that we may be at rest.