freedom

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noun free·dom \ ˈfrē-dəm \

Definition of freedom

1 :the quality or state of being free: such as

a :the absence of necessity, coercion, or constraint in choice or action

b :liberation from slavery or restraint or from the power of another :independence

c :the quality or state of being exempt or released usually from something onerous

freedom from care

d :ease, facility

spoke the language with freedom

e :the quality of being frank, open, or outspoken

answered with freedom

f :improper familiarity

g :boldness of conception or execution

h :unrestricted use

gave him the freedom of their home

2 a :a political right

b :franchise, privilege

See freedom defined for English-language learners

See freedom defined for kids

Examples of freedom in a Sentence

Or Bugs would do the impossible by jumping out of the frame and landing on the drawing board of the cartoonist who was at work creating him. This freedom to transcend the laws of basic physics, to hop around in time and space, and to skip from one dimension to another has long been a crucial aspect of imaginative poetry. —Billy Collins, Wall Street Journal, 28-29 June 2008
I can see that my choices were never truly mine alone—and that that is how it should be, that to assert otherwise is to chase after a sorry sort of freedom. —Barack Obama, Dreams from My Father, (1995) 2004
It's the beginning of summer. … For many adults who are really closet kids, this means that their blood hums with a hint of freedom … —Anna Quindlen, Newsweek, 18 June 2001
He thinks children these days have too much freedom.
She has the freedom to do as she likes.
a political prisoner struggling to win his freedom

Recent Examples of freedom from the Web

An area alligator attraction has flooded, and if waters continue to rise, 350 of its alligators will gain their freedom and filter out into the community, according to KFDM/Fox 6.

— todd masson, NOLA.com, "350 alligators on verge of escaping Texas facility," 29 Aug. 2017
In the past year, Kaepernick has spoken out against police brutality, publicly commemorated Black freedom fighters, and made at least $800,000 worth of charitable organizations out-of-pocket donations, according to the Colin Kaepernick Foundation.

— mankaprr conteh, Essence.com, "How Black Women Supporting Colin Kaepernick May Force The NFL's Hand," 23 Aug. 2017
There's plenty of action in Xenogenesis, but a lot of the story is character-driven and involves weighty questions about freedom and identity.

— annalee newitz, Ars Technica, "Four book series that are shaping the future of science fiction on television," 19 Aug. 2017
According to the artist, the top hand represents freedom of expression, the dark purple hand represents core human values, and the bottom hand represents society.

— ashley mason, Bon Appetit, "We Can't Stop Staring At These Restaurants' Walls," 11 Aug. 2017
Like the slave patrols of the past, Customs officers serve as gatekeepers who contain African American women’s freedom of movement.

— Longreads, "The War on Drugs Is a War on Women of Color," 3 Aug. 2017
The image of those dripping breasts may not be the best advertisement for freedom of association, but plenty of Harvard undergrads of both genders clustered around it to join the fun.

— john sedgwick, vanityfair.com, "What’s Really Behind the Civil War to End Harvard’s Fraternities?," 2 Aug. 2017
After all, one implication of the center’s nonexistence is that parties have a lot more freedom to move the poles of America’s political debate than is popularly believed.

— eric levitz, Daily Intelligencer, "Democrats Can Abandon the Center — Because the Center Doesn’t Exist," 30 July 2017
Voice commands to shut down and reboot your PC have also been enabled via Cortana—who now has greater freedom to provide answers without launching a browser.

— mark hachman, PCWorld, "Microsoft slips four more features into the Fall Creators Update with Build 16251," 27 July 2017

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'freedom.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Origin and Etymology of freedom

see ¹free

NEW! Time Traveler

First Known Use: before 12th century

See Words from the same year

freedom Synonyms

Synonyms

autonomy, independence, independency, liberty, self-determination, self-governance, self-government, sovereignty (also sovranty)

Antonyms

dependence (also dependance), heteronomy, subjection, unfreedom

Related Words

emancipation, enfranchisement, liberation, manumission, release

Near Antonyms

captivity, enchainment, enslavement, immurement, imprisonment, incarceration, internment, subjugation

Synonym Discussion of freedom

freedom, liberty, license mean the power or condition of acting without compulsion. freedom has a broad range of application from total absence of restraint to merely a sense of not being unduly hampered or frustrated.

- freedom of the press

liberty suggests release from former restraint or compulsion.

- the released prisoner had difficulty adjusting to his new liberty

license implies freedom specially granted or conceded and may connote an abuse of freedom.

- freedom without responsibility may degenerate into license

Other Government and Politics Terms

agent provocateur, agitprop, autarky, cabal, egalitarianism, federalism, hegemony, plenipotentiary, popular sovereignty, socialism

FREEDOM Defined for Kids

freedom

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noun free·dom \ ˈfrē-dəm \

Definition of freedom for Students

1 :the condition of having liberty

The slaves won their freedom.

2 :ability to move or act as desired

freedom of choice

freedom of movement

3 :release from something unpleasant

freedom from care

4 :the quality of being very frank :candor

spoke with freedom

5 :a political right

freedom of speech

Law Dictionary

freedom

noun free·dom

legal Definition of freedom

1 :the quality or state of being free: as

a :the absence of necessity, coercion, or constraint in choice or action

b :liberation from slavery or restraint or from the power of another

c :the quality or state of being exempt or released from something onerous

2 a :a political or civil right

b :franchise 2

Learn More about freedom

See words that rhyme with freedom Thesaurus: All synonyms and antonyms for freedom Spanish Central: Translation of freedom Nglish: Translation of freedom for Spanish speakers Britannica English: Translation of freedom for Arabic speakers Britannica.com: Encyclopedia article about freedom

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Origin and Etymology of freedom

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Synonym Discussion of freedom

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freedom

Definition of freedom for Students

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freedom

legal Definition of freedom

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