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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 Selling final expense insurance from home offers financial freedom, flexible schedules and long-term career stability. David Price, Forbes.com, 29 Apr. 2025 Proponents of educational freedom should reject such fearmongering. Gavin Schiffres, National Review, 29 Apr. 2025 The cost is possibly his relationship with Emma, and his relationship with Chee and Bern, and possibly the loss of his freedom. Pat Saperstein, Variety, 28 Apr. 2025 In question was whether Bob Jones' discriminatory policy was protected by its right to religious freedom, because the school claimed the Bible prohibited race-mixing. Jonaki Mehta, NPR, 18 Apr. 2025 See All Example Sentences for freedom
Recent Examples of Synonyms for freedom
Noun
  • In 2019, the Indian Parliament passed a law that revoked the region's administrative autonomy, which many in the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party had blamed for the violence that has rocked the Himalayan valley.
    Omkar Khandekar, NPR, 23 Apr. 2025
  • For centuries, the territory that would become Ukraine had been part of an imperial Russia whose rulers viewed Ukrainians as close kin and repeatedly suppressed local pursuits of autonomy (which were rarely well organized or large in scale).
    Foreign Affairs, Foreign Affairs, 22 Apr. 2025
Noun
  • California has been in the process of implementing various new regulations to give insurers more latitude to raise premiums in exchange for issuing more policies in high-risk areas.
    CBS News, CBS News, 22 Apr. 2025
  • The times and dates given apply to mid-northern latitudes.
    Jamie Carter, Forbes.com, 21 Apr. 2025
Noun
  • The country's current head of state, President Joseph Aoun, is an independent who has both called for Hezbollah to disarm and for Israel to respect Lebanese sovereignty.
    Josh Hammer, MSNBC Newsweek, 21 Apr. 2025
  • Leaders of Ukraine, meanwhile, are pushing to maintain independence and sovereignty.
    Francesca Chambers, USA Today, 20 Apr. 2025
Noun
  • Universities and the government use the database to track foreign students and students rely on it for their authorization to remain in the country.
    Bart Jansen, USA Today, 26 Apr. 2025
  • Synthetic Food Dyes to Be Phased Out The FDA plans to revoke authorization of two synthetic food colorings—Citrus Red No. 2 and Orange B—within the next few months.
    Stephanie Brown, Verywell Health, 24 Apr. 2025
Noun
  • Washington controversially backed Islamabad during the 1971 War of Bangladeshi independence, which oversaw what many analysts describe as a genocide against Bangladeshis.
    Brady Knox, The Washington Examiner, 24 Apr. 2025
  • Real-Life Examples Of Evolving Goals A couple who planned to retire early shifts their focus to charitable work after achieving financial independence.
    Andrew Rosen, Forbes.com, 24 Apr. 2025
Noun
  • The Hanged Man asks you to fully surrender control and embrace this chapter of stillness.
    Meghan Rose, Glamour, 1 May 2025
  • That proposal would see Moscow de facto control parts of the Kherson, Zaporizhzhia, Luhansk and Donetsk regions that Russia occupies but does not fully control.
    Tom Rogers, MSNBC Newsweek, 30 Apr. 2025
Noun
  • This visit was very important signal for our partners that Kyiv, much more safety right now, and also very important signal that Great Britain stay together with Ukraine, support Ukraine -- support our country in the fight for our freedom, for our independency.
    ABC News, ABC News, 10 Apr. 2022
  • Yet the careful reader will appreciate the significance of the Puritan Cromwell’s independency.
    Barton Swaim, WSJ, 27 Dec. 2021
Noun
  • Carlsberg said the loss last year of its exclusive license partnership to produce and distribute San Miguel had negatively impacted first-quarter sales.
    Jenni Reid, CNBC, 29 Apr. 2025
  • That, along with the use of personal seat license fees for season ticket holders for Commanders games, would most likely recoup the team’s initial multi-billion dollar investment, and then some, rather quickly.
    David Aldridge, New York Times, 29 Apr. 2025

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Cite this Entry

“Freedom.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/freedom. Accessed 6 May. 2025.

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