Definition of liberate
liberated
;liberating
transitive verb
1 : to set at liberty : free; specifically : to free (something, such as a country) from domination by a foreign power
2 : to free from combination liberate the gas by adding acid
3 : to take or take over illegally or unjustly material liberated from a nearby construction site — Thorne Dreyer
From the M-W Editors
Examples of liberate in a Sentence
Rebels fought to liberate the country.
Soldiers liberated the hostages from their captors.
Laptop computers could liberate workers from their desks.
He was using materials that he had liberated from a construction site.
Recent Examples of liberate from the Web
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On July 9, Iraqi forces officially liberated the city from ISIS control.
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Now after being liberated, death is still very close to them.
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After her concentration camp was liberated, Veil studied law and worked as a judge before becoming France's first female general secretary of the Council of Magistrates in 1970.
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Syrian Democratic Forces late tonight entered the old city in central #Raqqa, key milestone in campaign to liberate the city.
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Meanwhile, Iraqi troops are in the final stages of their battle to liberate Mosul from ISIS—though their victory won’t stop ISIS from using the city as propaganda.
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Otherwise, accepting some simple realities may liberate you from your anger.
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In 2003 the U.S. Army liberated my city of Mosul. ...
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But victory has come at a heavy cost for Mosul’s residents and the soldiers fighting to liberate them from the extremists’ rule.
These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'liberate.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Origin and Etymology of liberate
Latin liberatus, past participle of liberare, from liber —see 1liberal
Synonym Discussion of liberate
LIBERATE Defined for English Language Learners
liberate
playDefinition of liberate for English Language Learners
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: to free (someone or something) from being controlled by another person, group, etc.
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: to give freedom or more freedom to (someone)
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: to take or steal (something)
LIBERATE Defined for Kids
liberate
playDefinition of liberate for Students
liberated
;liberating
: to set free
Learn More about liberate
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See words that rhyme with liberate Thesaurus: All synonyms and antonyms for liberate Spanish Central: Translation of liberate Nglish: Translation of liberate for Spanish speakers Britannica English: Translation of liberate for Arabic speakers
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