free speech
noun
: speech that is protected by the First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution
also
: the right to such speech
… speakers were allowed to exercise their constitutional right of free speech … —
Harold Ickes
Harold Ickes Examples of free speech in a Sentence
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The measure follows months of criticism from community activists saying the city has not sufficiently supported protesters’ free speech rights or pushed back against federal immigration operations.
—Mathew Miranda
january 22, Sacbee.com, 23 Jan. 2026
With the new guidance — which legal and media experts said would be hard to enforce and could stifle free speech — the FCC questioned whether late-night and daytime talk shows deserve an exemption from the equal-time rules for broadcast stations using the public airwaves.
—Los Angeles Times, 23 Jan. 2026
The agency says Kelly doesn’t have the same right to free speech as civilians.
—Anne Flaherty, ABC News, 22 Jan. 2026
By this way of thinking, free speech is dangerous because the public is too influence-able, and influence is too unpredictable, and security is too precious.
—Stephanie A, The Conversation, 22 Jan. 2026
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Mathew Miranda
january 22, Sacbee.com, 23 Jan. 2026
With the new guidance — which legal and media experts said would be hard to enforce and could stifle free speech — the FCC questioned whether late-night and daytime talk shows deserve an exemption from the equal-time rules for broadcast stations using the public airwaves.
—Los Angeles Times, 23 Jan. 2026
The agency says Kelly doesn’t have the same right to free speech as civilians.
—Anne Flaherty, ABC News, 22 Jan. 2026
By this way of thinking, free speech is dangerous because the public is too influence-able, and influence is too unpredictable, and security is too precious.
—Stephanie A, The Conversation, 22 Jan. 2026
See All Example Sentences for free speech
Cite this Entry
“Free speech.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/free%20speech. Accessed 30 Jan. 2026.
Copy CitationLegal Definition
free speech
noun1
: speech that is protected by the First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution
setting off an alarm bell is not free speech—A. M. Dershowitz
A. M. Dershowitz2
: freedom of speech
an unconstitutional restraint on free speech—National Law Journal
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