liberation

1 of 2

noun (1)

lib·​er·​a·​tion ˌli-bə-ˈrā-shən 

1

: the act of liberating : the state of being liberated

2

: a movement seeking equal rights and status for a group

women's liberation

liberationist

ˌli-bə-ˈrā-sh(ə-)nist 

noun

liberationist

2 of 2

noun (2)

lib·​er·​a·​tion·​ist -sh(ə)nə̇st 

plural -s

: one that favors or advocates liberationism

Synonyms of liberation

Noun (1)

• emancipation

Examples of liberation in a Sentence

Noun (1)

The liberation of the city took weeks.

the liberation of the slaves was one of the key results of the Civil War

Recent Examples on the Web

Noun

The tapes were hidden for decades after the 1996 overthrow of Kwame Nkrumah, Ghana’s first president and a leader of the African liberation movement. — Jack Dunn, Variety, 15 Oct. 2026

The director Peter Sellars, who staged the piece’s first production last year, also worked with me on assembling the libretto, and Peter is a force of liberation. — Matthew Aucoin, The New York Review of Books, 10 Oct. 2026

In 1944, a few weeks after the liberation of France, Georges Zurabishvili, who had emigrated to France from Georgia in the 1920s, was bundled into a car by three men with machine guns. — Tobias Grey, Air Mail, 10 Oct. 2026

Pica said a red lip felt like the most direct way to express that sense of liberation. — Sandra Salibian, Footwear News, 9 Oct. 2026

Word History

Etymology

Noun (1)

Middle English liberacion "deliverance," borrowed from Middle French & Latin; Middle French, "action of freeing," borrowed from Latin līberātiōn-, līberātiō "setting free, release, acquittal," from līberāre "to give free status to (a slave), release" + -tiōn-, -tiō, suffix of verbal action — more at liberate

First Known Use

Noun (1)

15th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Noun (2)

1845, in the meaning defined above

Phrases Containing liberation

• liberation theology

Rhymes for liberation

• abdication
• aberration
• abjuration
• abnegation
• abrogation
• acceptation
• acclamation
• acclimation
• accusation
• activation
• actuation
• acylation

Kids Definition

liberation

noun

lib·​er·​a·​tion ˌlib-ə-ˈrā-shən 

1

: the act of liberating : the state of being liberated

2

: a movement seeking equal rights for a group