liberation

noun

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

Synonyms of liberation

• emancipation

Examples of liberation in a Sentence

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

But today’s traditionalist poets, who accompanied the liberation parade from Idlib to the Umayyad capital, get off on the cognates of salvage and salvation and on the prefixes of survival and revival. —Literary Hub, 15 Jan. 2026

Parashat Va’era reminds us that liberation is not only about escaping external oppression. —Rabbi Bruce D. Forman, Sun Sentinel, 13 Jan. 2026

The liberation of time is central to modern cinema, because, once a movie is acknowledged as a work of first-person art as much as a book is, subjectivity itself becomes its overarching subject. —Richard Brody, New Yorker, 13 Jan. 2026

There was no major liberation party. —Boris Muñoz, Time, 12 Jan. 2026

Word History

Etymology

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

15th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

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