Liberty Meaning
/ˈlɪb.ɪ.ti/Definition, CEFR level C1, pronunciation, examples, and quiz.
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Definition
nounThe condition of being free.
nounThe condition of being free from imprisonment, slavery or forced labour.
Sentence Examples
Liberty consists of being able to make everything as harmless as possible.
The essence of mathematics is liberty.
The fight for justice and liberty
Synonyms & Antonyms
Synonyms:
Antonyms:
None
CEFR Practice Quiz
After many years of unjust imprisonment, the prisoner finally gained his ____.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
The Statue of ____ is a famous symbol of freedom and welcome for people arriving in the United States.
Word Origin & History
From Middle English liberte, from Old French liberté, from Latin libertas (“freedom”), from liber (“free”); see liberal.
Literary Quotations & Historical Citations
"Four score and seven years ago our fathers brought forth, upon this continent, a new nation, conceived in liberty, and dedicated to the proposition that "all men are created equal"^([sic])"
— 1863 November 19, Abraham Lincoln, Dedicatory Remarks (Gettysburg Address)^(https://en.wikisource.org/wiki/Gettysburg_Address_(Nicolay_draft)), near Soldiers' National Cemetery, →LCCN, Nicolay draft, page 1:
"But as the philosopher Isaiah Berlin sagely pointed out, liberty for wolves means death to lambs."
— 2010, Naomi Oreskes, Erik M. Conway, quoting Isaiah Berlin, chapter 5, in Merchants of Doubt:
"[Edmund] Burke continued to fight for liberty later on in life. He backed Americans in their campaign for freedom from British taxation. He supported Catholic freedoms and freer trade with Ireland, in spite of his constituents’ ire. He wanted more liberal laws on the punishment of debtors."
— 2014 July 5, “Freedom fighter”, in The Economist, volume 412, number 8894:
"Now liberal cultural power has increased, the ACLU doesn’t seem very interested in the liberties of non-progressives anymore, and Dr. Seuss sells as pricey samizdat."
— 2021 March 7, Ross Douthat, “Do Liberals Care if Books Disappear?”, in The New York Times:
"I'd gie my ſhoon frae aff my feet, / To taſte ſic fruit, I ſwear, man. / Syne let us pray, auld England may / Sure plant this far-famed tree, man; / And blythe we'll ſing, and hail the day / That gave us liberty, man."
— 1869, Robert Burns, “The Tree of Liberty”, in Poems, Chiefly in the Scottish Dialect, volume III (Posthumous Poems), Kilmarnock, Scotland: […] James M‘Kie, →OCLC, page 360:
Explore More C1 Vocabulary Words
CEFR Practice Quiz
After many years of unjust imprisonment, the prisoner finally gained his ____.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
The Statue of ____ is a famous symbol of freedom and welcome for people arriving in the United States.