libertarian
noun
lib·er·tar·i·an
ˌli-bər-ˈter-ē-ən 
-ˈte-rē-
1
: an advocate of the doctrine of free will
2
a
: a person who upholds the principles of individual liberty especially of thought and action
b
capitalized
: a member of a political party advocating libertarian principles
libertarian
adjective
Examples of libertarian in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
Just as there are no atheists in foxholes, there are no libertarians in financial panics.
—
Doyle McManus, Los Angeles Times, 19 Mar. 2023
At the same time, some libertarians were unhappy to find that their vision of a sweeping health-freedom movement had been largely reduced to a single idea: resistance to vaccination.
—Matthew Hongoltz-Hetling, The New Republic, 28 Feb. 2023
But the board rejected as unjustified the more sweeping reform proposal that libertarians have long advocated: to require the government to obtain a court warrant before using Americans’ identifiers to search the repository.
—Charlie Savage, BostonGlobe.com, 31 July 2023
This consensus held despite criticism from libertarians and traditionalists.
—Matthew Continetti, National Review, 22 July 2023
These bans have raised widespread alarm among civil libertarians and provoked a lawsuit against a school board in Florida, brought by PEN America and the largest American publisher, Penguin Random House.
—A.o. Scott, New York Times, 21 June 2023
The wave was also fueled by surging interest in cryptocurrency, as Miami became seen as a nexus for libertarians and the newly rich.
—Rob Wile, NBC News, 25 July 2023
Populists and libertarians, critical of Bush-era interventions in the Middle East, are trying to push the Republican Party into a retrenchment.
—Michael Lucchese, Washington Examiner, 1 June 2023
Where many conservatives post-Trump have rethought issues such as foreign intervention and trade liberalization, Pence remains a George W. Bush-style hawk and an economic libertarian, right down to matters such as entitlement reform.
—T.a. Frank, Washington Post, 28 June 2023
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Doyle McManus, Los Angeles Times, 19 Mar. 2023
At the same time, some libertarians were unhappy to find that their vision of a sweeping health-freedom movement had been largely reduced to a single idea: resistance to vaccination.
—Matthew Hongoltz-Hetling, The New Republic, 28 Feb. 2023
But the board rejected as unjustified the more sweeping reform proposal that libertarians have long advocated: to require the government to obtain a court warrant before using Americans’ identifiers to search the repository.
—Charlie Savage, BostonGlobe.com, 31 July 2023
This consensus held despite criticism from libertarians and traditionalists.
—Matthew Continetti, National Review, 22 July 2023
These bans have raised widespread alarm among civil libertarians and provoked a lawsuit against a school board in Florida, brought by PEN America and the largest American publisher, Penguin Random House.
—A.o. Scott, New York Times, 21 June 2023
The wave was also fueled by surging interest in cryptocurrency, as Miami became seen as a nexus for libertarians and the newly rich.
—Rob Wile, NBC News, 25 July 2023
Populists and libertarians, critical of Bush-era interventions in the Middle East, are trying to push the Republican Party into a retrenchment.
—Michael Lucchese, Washington Examiner, 1 June 2023
Where many conservatives post-Trump have rethought issues such as foreign intervention and trade liberalization, Pence remains a George W. Bush-style hawk and an economic libertarian, right down to matters such as entitlement reform.
—T.a. Frank, Washington Post, 28 June 2023
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These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'libertarian.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Word History
First Known Use
1789, in the meaning defined at sense 1
Phrases Containing libertarian
Dictionary Entries Near libertarian
Cite this Entry
“Libertarian.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/libertarian. Accessed 24 Sep. 2023.
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Kids Definition
libertarian
noun
lib·er·tar·i·an
ˌlib-ər-ˈter-ē-ən
: a person who believes in liberty of thought and action
libertarian
adjective
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