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noun

Synonym Chooser

How does the adjective liberal contrast with its synonyms?

Some common synonyms of liberal are bountiful, generous, and munificent. While all these words mean "giving or given freely and unstintingly," liberal suggests openhandedness in the giver and largeness in the thing or amount given.

a teacher liberal with her praise

When could bountiful be used to replace liberal?

The words bountiful and liberal are synonyms, but do differ in nuance. Specifically, bountiful suggests lavish, unremitting giving or providing.

children spoiled by bountiful presents

When is generous a more appropriate choice than liberal?

The synonyms generous and liberal are sometimes interchangeable, but generous stresses warmhearted readiness to give more than size or importance of the gift.

a generous offer of help

In what contexts can munificent take the place of liberal?

While the synonyms munificent and liberal are close in meaning, munificent suggests a scale of giving appropriate to lords or princes.

a munificent foundation grant

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 liberal
Adjective
In some ways, this rhetoric is a continuation of a fight that liberals and conservatives have been having for decades about how much to emphasize America’s sins versus its strengths. Brian Stelter, CNN Money, 20 Aug. 2025 Throughout the late nineteenth century and much of the twentieth, Jewish socialists, liberals, anarchists, and Zionists all saw their respective political programs as offering a remedy for anti-Semitism. Daniel May, Harpers Magazine, 20 Aug. 2025
Noun
There’s plenty of room in the liberal tent for debate and discussion. Big Think, 11 Sep. 2025 Russian power is limited to establishing a Eurasian sphere of influence across its former Soviet republics and disrupting liberal democracies. John Rennie Short, The Conversation, 11 Sep. 2025 See All Example Sentences for liberal
Recent Examples of Synonyms for liberal
Adjective
  • The Mynatts are among the rising ranks of parents and caregivers frustrated by one-size-fits-all schooling who are seeking something more aligned with their values and viewpoints—whether progressive or conservative.
    Kerry McDonald, Forbes.com, 10 Sep. 2025
  • In the 1990s, Bill was decades of biblical study away from that progressive stance.
    Sam Gillette, People.com, 10 Sep. 2025
Adjective
  • Or, head over to Dutchman’s Seafood, aka The Dutchie, for generous filets of local sole and Skuna Bay salmon with views of Morro Rock.
    Cu Fleshman, Travel + Leisure, 8 Sep. 2025
  • Curved walls, brass accents, and floor-to-ceiling windows frame a generous living space—complete with a dining table that arcs like a ship’s keel and a cocktail-ready bar that glows at night.
    Lewis Nunn, Forbes.com, 6 Sep. 2025
Adjective
  • Frassati, another young Italian man known for his charitable heart who died at the age of 24 from polio and lived in the early 1900s, is also being canonized on Sept 7 at a ceremony at the Vatican.
    Lauren Costantino September 6, Miami Herald, 6 Sep. 2025
  • Through charitable games, Lackey said the department has raised more than $100,000 to support firefighters and their families.
    Craig Shoup, Nashville Tennessean, 6 Sep. 2025
Noun
  • Advertisement In Chile, another leftist, President Gabriel Boric, has endured broad criticism over his government’s inability to address the country’s rising murder rate.
    Christopher Sabatini, Time, 30 Aug. 2025
Adjective
  • Information operations and psychological warfare are a key component of modern war — and arguably nowhere is this truer than in the Israel-Islamist conflict.
    Sean Durns, The Washington Examiner, 12 Sep. 2025
  • Watch a modern student tackle an assignment.
    Cornelia C. Walther, Forbes.com, 12 Sep. 2025
Adjective
  • Plumier told IndyStar that bullfrogs and green frogs are so plentiful and quick to breed that frog hunting hasn’t proven harmful to their populations in Indiana.
    Sophie Hartley, IndyStar, 9 Sep. 2025
  • While the water-ice leftovers may be more plentiful, nitrogen ice shines more brightly.
    Nola Taylor Tillman, Space.com, 8 Sep. 2025
Adjective
  • The researchers call their approach a form of benevolent hacking that helps strengthen AI systems before weaknesses can be exploited.
    Bojan Stojkovski, Interesting Engineering, 7 Sep. 2025
  • The social politics of these movies have never been great — the real-life Warrens were, by all accounts, pretty shitty people and not the gorgeous, benevolent forces portrayed by Vera Farmiga and Patrick Wilson — but that’s easily dismissed in the name of movie magic.
    Emily Palmer Heller, Vulture, 5 Sep. 2025
Noun
  • Boston Red Sox lefty Babe Ruth outpitched Jim Vaughn of the Chicago Cubs to win Game 1 of the 1918 World Series at Comiskey Park.
    Kori Rumore, Chicago Tribune, 5 Sep. 2025
  • Now, many are wondering what the market will look like for a 31-year-old lefty.
    Drew VonScio, MSNBC Newsweek, 3 Sep. 2025

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Cite this Entry

“Liberal.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/liberal. Accessed 12 Sep. 2025.

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