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as in latitude
the right to act or move freely as special guests of the owners, the youngsters had full freedom of the resort and its private beach

Synonyms & Similar Words

Synonym Chooser

How is the word freedom different from other nouns like it?

The words liberty and license are common synonyms of freedom. While all three words mean "the power or condition of acting without compulsion," freedom has a broad range of application from total absence of restraint to merely a sense of not being unduly hampered or frustrated.

freedom of the press

When could liberty be used to replace freedom?

In some situations, the words liberty and freedom are roughly equivalent. However, liberty suggests release from former restraint or compulsion.

the released prisoner had difficulty adjusting to his new liberty

In what contexts can license take the place of freedom?

While in some cases nearly identical to freedom, license implies freedom specially granted or conceded and may connote an abuse of freedom.

freedom without responsibility may degenerate into license

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of freedom What endures are the soil conditions — the freedoms and institutions that allow creativity and risk-taking to flourish. Tom Chavez, Fortune, 17 Oct. 2025 Some managers like to give more freedom and don’t give clear instructions for 95 per cent of the moments of the game. Jordan Campbell, New York Times, 17 Oct. 2025 Protesters have the right to free speech and freedom of assembly, White said. Darcie Moran, Freep.com, 17 Oct. 2025 For roughly the first half, the songs are held together by a sort of yearning — for a person, for the open road, or for the idea of freedom. Josh Crutchmer, Rolling Stone, 17 Oct. 2025 See All Example Sentences for freedom
Recent Examples of Synonyms for freedom
Noun
  • Sitake’s steadiness helped BYU escape the choppy waters of FBS independence and transition into a Power 4 conference in 2023.
    Christopher Kamrani, New York Times, 17 Oct. 2025
  • But excellence and independence are all but impossible to consistently maintain without the steady backing of mentors or salaries, and when the incentives of the internet reward virality no matter how it’s achieved.
    Spencer Kornhaber, The Atlantic, 17 Oct. 2025
Noun
  • Any potential impact could trigger impressive auroras in northern skies and possibly even at mid-latitudes.
    Daisy Dobrijevic, Space.com, 14 Oct. 2025
  • Officials argue that the approach gives Washington greater legal and military latitude to strike at foreign groups involved in narcotics smuggling.
    Antonio María Delgado, Miami Herald, 14 Oct. 2025
Noun
  • The Venezuelan government, led by President Nicolás Maduro, has denounced previous strikes as an act of aggression, vowing to defend Venezuelan sovereignty.
    Hollie Silverman, MSNBC Newsweek, 14 Oct. 2025
  • Core questions—borders, sovereignty, refugees—are deferred.
    Mohammed R. Mhawish, New Yorker, 14 Oct. 2025
Noun
  • Equity members have already voted in favor of a strike authorization.
    Glenn Garner, Deadline, 18 Oct. 2025
  • This practice has led some US lawmakers to push for repealing these authorizations, as Congress looks to wrestle back some authority over war powers and foreign policy.
    Morgan Chalfant, semafor.com, 17 Oct. 2025
Noun
  • Now, this was very far from ending occupation or achieving Palestinian liberty, but those were concessions that Israel made as a result of Palestinian resistance.
    Isaac Chotiner, New Yorker, 16 Oct. 2025
  • The catch is that instead of writing the first draft of your college English paper, this document can determine someone’s liberty in court.
    Andrew Guthrie Ferguson, The Conversation, 15 Oct. 2025
Noun
  • Partners have no control over or input into the reporting or editing process and do not review stories before publication.
    Steven Louis Goldstein, New York Times, 16 Oct. 2025
  • Developed by AheadForm Technology, the robot offers up to 30 degrees of freedom, powered by a precise control system and an advanced AI learning algorithm.
    Prabhat Ranjan Mishra, Interesting Engineering, 15 Oct. 2025
Noun
  • Palestinians were shifted from leading a liberation project to managing enclaves, while Israel retained control over their land, movement, and the map itself.
    Mohammed R. Mhawish, New Yorker, 14 Oct. 2025
  • Ryst, only recently, has found liberation in setting boundaries with work where her children are involved.
    Lily Ford, HollywoodReporter, 13 Oct. 2025
Noun
  • His law license remained intact, and his boss excused the behavior.
    Micah Kimball, Denver Post, 16 Oct. 2025
  • The labels have for the most part taken a cautiously experimental approach to AI music in the past several years, granting licenses to a few companies to create tools like AI voice clones or music generators, but suing several developers who didn’t get licenses for their models.
    Ethan Millman, HollywoodReporter, 16 Oct. 2025

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Cite this Entry

“Freedom.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/freedom. Accessed 21 Oct. 2025.

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