libertarian

noun lib·er·tar·i·an \ ˌli-bər-ˈter-ē-ən , -ˈte-rē- \

Updated on: 19 Apr 2018

Definition of libertarian

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

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libertarian

adjective

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libertarianism

play \ˌli-bər-ˈter-ē-ə-ˌni-zəm, -ˈte-rē-\ noun

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Recent Examples of libertarian from the Web

Like most conservatives and libertarians (who are essentially conservatives with beards), diversity of thought is the only kind of diversity for which Damore and his ilk are willing to advocate.

— michael harriot, The Root, "‘Diversity of Thought’ Is Just a Euphemism for ‘White Supremacy’," 12 Apr. 2018
This is a debate why libertarians can never win elections.

— Fox News, "Laura Ingraham announces new segment 'Defending the First'," 10 Apr. 2018
Reddit libertarians, for example—an air of a religious experience.

— rachel aviv, The New Yorker, "A Sidelined Wall Street Legend Bets on Bitcoin," 10 Apr. 2018
Civil libertarians are horrified, viewing the program, called Aadhaar, as Orwell’s Big Brother brought to life.

— vindu goel, New York Times, "‘Big Brother’ in India Requires Fingerprint Scans for Food, Phones and Finances," 7 Apr. 2018
That would be applauded by libertarians and some conservatives, but not by many others.

— joi ito, WIRED, "The Paradox of Universal Basic Income," 29 Mar. 2018
Some Internet advocates and civil libertarians warned the bill will have a chilling effect on free speech, with website owners and hosts overly cautious about accepting third-party content.

— stephen koff, cleveland.com, "Senate passes Portman bill to fight Backpage.com sex trafficking, assuring Trump's signature," 21 Mar. 2018
The proliferation of the weapons and a correlating jump in the number of incidents have stoked concerns among some civil libertarians and attorneys, who question whether the growing stockpile is ripe for overuse.

— matt stout, BostonGlobe.com, "Taser use is growing among Mass. police," 13 Mar. 2018
Bitcoin’s earliest disciples included technologists and libertarians, along with a few doomsayers who feared catastrophe and currency debasement in the aftermath of the financial crisis.

— kevin warsh, WSJ, "The Meaning of Bitcoin’s Volatility," 7 Mar. 2018

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'libertarian.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

First Known Use of libertarian

1789

LIBERTARIAN Defined for English Language Learners

libertarian

noun

Definition of libertarian for English Language Learners

: a person who believes that people should be allowed to do and say what they want without any interference from the government

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