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 fancy-freeConjure up visions of the footloose and fancy-free summers of your youth, and recollections of boardwalk strolls, ice cream in hand, may come to mind.—
Betsy Cribb Watson,
Southern Living,
7 June 2025
Lizzie’s status as an unmarried 32-year-old woman at the time of Andrew and Abby’s deaths was highly unusual, however, leading some historians to speculate about her sexuality, which would not have been openly discussed in the Victorian era.
—
Emma Banks,
PEOPLE,
18 Sep. 2026
In a reversal, a California regulator says unmarried drivers should not pay more for auto insurance.
—
Daniel Hernandez,
Los Angeles Times,
17 Sep. 2026
This attempt to revisit the type of fanciful, footloose and fancy-twee storytelling that helped characterize that cultural moment is a big swing, and an even bigger miss.
—
David Fear,
Rolling Stone,
18 Sep. 2025
But sis, this vacation is your time to let go of all those titles and lean into being footloose and carefree.
During the 1950s, the Catholic Church in Belgium separated thousands of newborns from their unwed mothers and put them up for adoption, often without the mothers' consent.
—
Bill Whitaker,
CBS News,
12 July 2026
Britain’s mea culpa follows apologies from Scotland, Wales, the Church of England and other nations, as countries confront postwar policies that separated unwed mothers and infants.