illiberal

adjective il·lib·er·al \ (ˌ)i(l)-ˈli-b(ə-)rəl \

Updated on: 18 Apr 2018

Definition of illiberal

: not liberal: such as

a archaic

(1) : lacking a liberal education

(2) : lacking culture and refinement

b : not requiring the background of a liberal arts education

illiberal occupations

c archaic : not generous : stingy

d : not broad-minded : bigoted

illiberal thinking

e : opposed to liberalism

illiberal tendencies

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illiberality

play \(ˌ)i(l)-ˌli-bə-ˈra-lə-tē\ noun

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illiberally

play \(ˌ)i(l)-ˈli-b(ə-)rə-lē\ adverb

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illiberalness

play \(ˌ)i(l)-ˈli-b(ə-)rəl-nəs\ noun

See illiberal defined for English-language learners

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 of illiberal from the Web

Orban, who has championed illiberal democracy, will be building his next government over the next few weeks.

— ian bremmer, Time, "Hungary's Far Right Leader Is Going Nowhere—and Europe Should Be Worried," 11 Apr. 2018
His massive social media network has been used to promote divisive, illiberal politicians.

— alex shephard, The New Republic, "Facebook’s Innocence Project," 10 Apr. 2018
With another term now in hand, Orban has become one of the continent's most potent illiberal demagogues, bending the state to his favor and eroding the country's fledgling democratic norms.

— ishaan tharoor, Washington Post, "The pope’s challenge to Orban and Europe’s far right," 10 Apr. 2018
Egypt's President Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi is following a model perfected by Russia's Vladimir Putin, an equally illiberal leader who was re-elected this week after maneuvering his own chief opponent out of the running.

— dan perry, The Christian Science Monitor, "Seven years after Arab Spring, democracy wavers in Middle East," 22 Mar. 2018
Turkey has free elections but an increasingly illiberal system whose politicized security apparatus and judiciary has put many thousands of opponents of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan in jail.

— dan perry, The Christian Science Monitor, "Seven years after Arab Spring, democracy wavers in Middle East," 22 Mar. 2018
Some analysts framed the contest as a last-ditch battle between an advancing tide of illiberal populists and beleaguered, maligned defenders of the liberal European status quo.

— ishaan tharoor, Washington Post, "Italy’s election is another blow to the European establishment," 5 Mar. 2018
Mr Zingales says colleagues who come from countries with illiberal regimes wholeheartedly backed his invitation to Mr Bannon.

— The Economist, "The University of Chicago puts its principles to the test," 15 Feb. 2018
In the Western World, illiberal democracy and far-right nationalism are again on the rise.

— lincoln michel, GQ, "Babylon Berlin Is the Best Historical Drama on Netflix," 17 Feb. 2018

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