liberate

verb

lib·​er·​ate ˈli-bə-ˌrāt How to pronounce liberate (audio)
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 siteThorne Dreyer
liberator noun
liberatory adjective
Choose the Right Synonym for liberate

free, release, liberate, emancipate, manumit mean to set loose from restraint or constraint.

free implies a usually permanent removal from whatever binds, confines, entangles, or oppresses.

freed the animals from their cages

release suggests a setting loose from confinement, restraint, or a state of pressure or tension, often without implication of permanent liberation.

released his anger on a punching bag

liberate stresses particularly the resulting state of liberty.

liberated their country from the tyrant

emancipate implies the liberation of a person from subjection or domination.

labor-saving devices emancipated us from household drudgery

manumit implies emancipation from slavery.

the document manumitted the slaves

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 on the Web Many would be liberated months later, including Ward-Thomas, who — having written golf match reports for the camp paper during his incarceration — returned to England determined to pursue a career in sports journalism. Jack Bantock, CNN, 9 Mar. 2024 The digital revolution would liberate news from printing presses, giving people portable devices that kept them informed all day long. David Streitfeld, New York Times, 28 Feb. 2024 In 1986, Mikhail Gorbachev initiated an era of political reform in the Soviet Union by liberating political prisoners and internal exiles, including the Nobel Prize-winning physicist Andrei Sakharov. David Remnick, The New Yorker, 25 Feb. 2024 Zelensky triumphantly visits liberated Izyum After Ukrainian forces liberated the city of Izyum in Ukraine’s eastern Kharkiv region, Zelensky traveled to the city to meet with troops, and symbolically raised a Ukrainian flag while singing Ukraine’s national anthem. Annabelle Timsit, Washington Post, 23 Feb. 2024 The musical ends with a flash-forward to a holiday dinner, and a pregnancy, and a newborn, in a triumphalist sequence that suggests the anti-mask, anti-vaccine movement has liberated society at last. Miles Klee, Rolling Stone, 10 Mar. 2024 Creating an easy-to-reproduce, easy-to-wear line of clothing that liberated women in daily lives was certainly on Bohan’s mind at the time, which Grazia Chiuri repurposed for today’s women. Roxanne Robinson, Forbes, 28 Feb. 2024 Kyiv forces liberated the regional capital, Kherson, in one of their last major successful land offensives in late 2022, but Russia controls the rest of the region. Richard Engel, NBC News, 24 Feb. 2024 Alderney was the last place in Europe to be liberated, a full nine days after Germany’s formal surrender. Rebecca Panovka, Harper's Magazine, 9 Feb. 2024

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'liberate.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

Etymology

Latin liberatus, past participle of liberare, from liber — see liberal entry 1

First Known Use

circa 1623, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Time Traveler
The first known use of liberate was circa 1623

Dictionary Entries Near liberate

Cite this Entry

“Liberate.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/liberate. Accessed 28 Mar. 2024.

Kids Definition

liberate

verb
lib·​er·​ate ˈlib-ə-ˌrāt How to pronounce liberate (audio)
liberated; liberating
: to set free
liberator noun

More from Merriam-Webster on liberate

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