illiberal

adjective

il·​lib·​er·​al (ˌ)i(l)-ˈli-b(ə-)rəl 

: not liberal: such as

a

: opposed to political liberalism

especially : restricting individual rights and freedoms

Her latest book … looks at how illiberal leaders use propaganda, corruption, violence and machismo …

—University of Hawaii

Authoritarian or hybrid regimes, no matter how illiberal, will still be treated as legitimate if they can provide security for their subjects and spark economic growth.

—Robert D. Kaplan

With the coming of the cold war, many Westerners were struck by the resemblance of Stalin's Russia to Hitler's Germany. Both were illiberal, highly centralized regimes that seemed to fit into the general designation of totalitarian states.

—Donald Kagan

b

: not broad-minded : bigoted

… used the migrant crisis to stir up racist, illiberal views.

—Eoin O'Malley

c

archaic : not generous : stingy

… Theobald felt quite good-natured, and sent … even more soup and wine than her usual not illiberal allowance.

—Samuel Butler

d

archaic : lacking culture and refinement

The tall gentleman came to meet her, looking very rigid and grave. But it was a rigidity that had no illiberal meaning.

—Henry James

Drunkenness, the most illiberal … of our vices, was sometimes capable, in a less civilized state of mankind, of occasioning a battle, a war, or a revolution.

—Edward Gibbon

e

archaic : lacking or permitting a lack of a liberal arts education

illiberal occupations

illiberality

(ˌ)i(l)-ˌli-bə-ˈra-lə-tē 

noun

plural illiberalities

illiberally

(ˌ)i(l)-ˈli-b(ə-)rə-lē 

adverb

illiberalness

(ˌ)i(l)-ˈli-b(ə-)rəl-nəs 

noun

Synonyms

• parochial
• small
• petty
• narrow
• sectarian
• insular

Examples of illiberal in a Sentence

an illiberal attitude toward sex

an illiberal society that viewed any artistic depiction of the nude as inherently indecent

Recent Examples on the Web

This is no longer a matter of liberal drift but an illiberal takeover—the Berkeley hippies who moved into faculty lounges decades ago would now be considered retrograde white supremacists—a structural crisis. —Ilya Shapiro, MSNBC Newsweek, 14 Aug. 2025

After two decades of raging against Bosnia’s state-level institutions, emboldened by his cast of illiberal allies and the lack of pushback from the European Union, many in Bosnia were stunned that authorities moved so quickly to implement the court’s ruling. —Christian Edwards, CNN Money, 9 Aug. 2025

In this account, after the Cold War, the United States and its allies selectively welcomed illiberal states such as China and Russia into the order’s institutions in the hope their inclusion in the order would encourage their liberalization. —Stacie E. Goddard, Foreign Affairs, 28 July 2025

As a consequence, the illiberal, unhinged right, now united behind Trump, has stolen a march on them. —Book Marks august 1, Literary Hub, 1 Aug. 2025

Word History

Etymology

Middle French or Latin; Middle French, from Latin illiberalis ignoble, stingy, from Latin in- + liberalis liberal

First Known Use

1588, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for illiberal

• liberal
• neoliberal