1
as in parochial
not broad or open in views or opinions
an illiberal society that viewed any artistic depiction of the nude as inherently indecent
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in narrow
unwilling to grant other people social rights or to accept other viewpoints
some of the more illiberal residents were opposed to having a hospice for AIDS patients in the neighborhood
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
3
as in vulgar
archaic
lacking in refinement or good taste
people who had been scorned as illiberal because they were poor
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.
Read More
Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of illiberal
The trio – who had never appeared together in public before – formed the defiant face of an emerging bloc of illiberal leaders determined to push back against Western rules and tilt the global balance of power in their favor.
—
Nectar Gan, CNN Money, 4 Sep. 2025
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
At the same time, Western progressivism has its own obvious illiberal features, European countries under notionally liberal governments are busy suppressing free expression and sometimes democracy itself, and the tensions of multiculturalism may make the European order more unstable than our own.
—Ross Douthat, Mercury News, 3 Aug. 2025
There are checks in place to prevent the kind of turn toward illiberal authoritarianism that has occurred elsewhere in Europe.
—Massimo Calabresi, Time, 24 July 2025
See All Example Sentences for illiberal
Nectar Gan, CNN Money, 4 Sep. 2025
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
At the same time, Western progressivism has its own obvious illiberal features, European countries under notionally liberal governments are busy suppressing free expression and sometimes democracy itself, and the tensions of multiculturalism may make the European order more unstable than our own.
—Ross Douthat, Mercury News, 3 Aug. 2025
There are checks in place to prevent the kind of turn toward illiberal authoritarianism that has occurred elsewhere in Europe.
—Massimo Calabresi, Time, 24 July 2025
See All Example Sentences for illiberal
Recent Examples of Synonyms for illiberal
Adjective
-
Aquila served as a parochial vicar in two parishes from 1976 to 1982 and then as pastor at Denver’s Guardian Angels Parish from 1982 to 1987.—
Elizabeth Hernandez,
Denver Post,
19 Sep. 2025
-
Or if that is not parochial enough, there are some decent Carabao Cup ties on Tuesday, with Manchester United’s conquerors Grimsby Town going to Sheffield Wednesday and Crystal Palace hosting Millwall, a replay of last season’s bruising FA Cup clash.—
Matt Slater,
New York Times,
15 Sep. 2025
Adjective
-
But those plans can be quite narrow and ineffective for addressing flood damage.—
Tamia Fowlkes,
jsonline.com,
6 Oct. 2025
-
Wide, shallow pans allow alcohol to evaporate more quickly than deep, narrow ones.—
Katie Rosenhouse,
Southern Living,
5 Oct. 2025
Adjective
-
A day before a shooter killed four people and set fire to a church in Michigan, students at a football game in Colorado chanted vulgar anti-Mormon slurs against the same religious organization.—
Dinah Voyles Pulver,
USA Today,
4 Oct. 2025
-
Colorado has condemned a vulgar chant its fans directed at BYU during its football team’s 24-21 loss Saturday at Folsom Field.—
David Ubben,
New York Times,
29 Sep. 2025
Adjective
-
By a rough count, Flagg played in approximately six different lineups, including some small-ball looks with Dwight Powell at center.—
Lawrence Dow,
Fort Worth Star-Telegram,
7 Oct. 2025
-
While there is acknowledgement that smaller teams, such as Norway’s Valarenga, could be on the receiving end of heavy defeats with the shift in format, the benefits of seeing top seeds clash early in the competition mean more overall interest.—
Megan Feringa,
New York Times,
7 Oct. 2025
Adjective
-
We’ve all been cast adrift in the cognitive dissonance between the visceral seriousness of the crime and the abject flippancy of the shooter, the brutality of the shooting and the memes reacting to Kirk’s bigoted views.—
Raven Smith,
Vogue,
18 Sep. 2025
-
Antoni, who once ran a Twitter account featuring bigoted attacks and conspiracy theories and who economists across the political spectrum say is unqualified, has suggested suspending the Bureau’s monthly job report altogether.—
Marianne Cooper,
Time,
9 Sep. 2025
Adjective
-
Each project presented at MIA is picked with a genuine desire for these works to come to the fore, not by crass commercial considerations.—
Nick Vivarelli,
Variety,
30 Sep. 2025
-
Free speech covers the jokes, the satire, the parodies—even the dumb, crass, or offensive ones.—
Lizz Winstead,
Time,
27 Sep. 2025
Adjective
-
But for his wife, the damage is deeper than a petty argument over a pet.—
Tereza Shkurtaj,
PEOPLE,
5 Oct. 2025
-
Throughout the summer, Joanne leads her lovable, chaotic crew through a season of strikeouts, petty rivalries, conservative-politician sponsors, and sexy carwash fundraisers gone wrong.—
Jesse Whittock,
Deadline,
2 Oct. 2025
Adjective
-
Government officials at the city, provincial, and federal levels made their case for tech investment last week at the All In AI conference in Montreal.—
Phil Wahba,
Fortune,
2 Oct. 2025
-
Mthethwa also faced an ongoing probe that heard allegations by a provincial police commissioner who accused him of attempting to obstruct the prosecution of a former head of South Africa’s Crime Intelligence Services who was being investigated for corruption.—
Nimi Princewill,
CNN Money,
1 Oct. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Illiberal.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/illiberal. Accessed 9 Oct. 2025.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share