Synonym Chooser

How does the verb liberate differ from other similar words?

Some common synonyms of liberate are emancipate, free, manumit, and release. While all these words mean "to set loose from restraint or constraint," liberate stresses particularly the resulting state of liberty.

liberated their country from the tyrant

When would emancipate be a good substitute for liberate?

In some situations, the words emancipate and liberate are roughly equivalent. However, emancipate implies the liberation of a person from subjection or domination.

labor-saving devices emancipated us from household drudgery

Where would free be a reasonable alternative to liberate?

The words free and liberate are synonyms, but do differ in nuance. Specifically, free implies a usually permanent removal from whatever binds, confines, entangles, or oppresses.

freed the animals from their cages

When could manumit be used to replace liberate?

The meanings of manumit and liberate largely overlap; however, manumit implies emancipation from slavery.

the document manumitted the slaves

When is it sensible to use release instead of liberate?

The words release and liberate can be used in similar contexts, but release suggests a setting loose from confinement, restraint, or a state of pressure or tension, often without implication of permanent liberation.

released his anger on a punching bag

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 liberate These warnings were not merely ignored in Alaska; they were betrayed on the very soil Washington’s army fought to liberate. Andy J. Semotiuk, Forbes.com, 17 Aug. 2025 Video footage shows the marine mammal breaching the surface and swimming away, liberated from its perilous constraints. Brendan Rascius, Miami Herald, 15 Aug. 2025 Shaked, who was liberated from the Matthausen camp, was referring to the condition of Evyatar David and Rom Braslavski, young men abducted on Oct. 7, 2023, from the Nova music festival in southern Israel. Philissa Cramer, Sun Sentinel, 11 Aug. 2025 How did One Piece season 1 end? Season 1 of Netflix's One Piece adaptation ended with Luffy and the Straw Hat gang liberating Nami's hometown of Coco Village from Arlong (McKinley Belcher III), the spiky-nosed fish-man with hopes of turning the village into a fish-men empire. EW.com, 11 Aug. 2025 See All Example Sentences for liberate
Recent Examples of Synonyms for liberate
Verb
  • Knox now serves on the board of The Innocence Center, a nonprofit dedicated to freeing innocent people from prison.
    Mandalit del Barco, NPR, 20 Aug. 2025
  • Anna Millette pinned her mother against a garage wall with a vehicle and when officers arrived and tried to break the windows to free Joyce Millette, Anna Millette reversed and struck two cops, police said.
    Jennifer Rodriguez, Kansas City Star, 20 Aug. 2025
Verb
  • Indiana’s efforts to save the squirrel The Indiana Department of Natural Resources is partnering with Purdue Fort Wayne and others to restore Franklin’s ground squirrel populations, said DNR’s Wildlife Research Supervisor Theresa Bordenkecher.
    Karl Schneider, IndyStar, 21 Aug. 2025
  • In the scene, a negotiation over lunch to swap dancers between a Paris and a New York ballet company, in an attempt to save their institutions, is interspersed with a series of flash cuts to the individual performers onstage.
    Beatrice Verhoeven, HollywoodReporter, 20 Aug. 2025
Verb
  • Blockbusters are released in five or six languages at once.
    Vibhas Ratanjee, Forbes.com, 15 Aug. 2025
  • The Violent Crime Rate in D.C. has worsened, and the Murder Rate has essentially DOUBLED in just over a decade—But these are only the 'official' statistics released by corrupt City Officials.
    Anna Commander Robert Birsel, MSNBC Newsweek, 14 Aug. 2025
Verb
  • Excitement is building in Lawrence as quarterback Jalon Daniels and the rest of the team look to redeem themselves after an up-and-down 2024.
    Joseph Hernandez, Kansas City Star, 22 Aug. 2025
  • These tickets have to be redeemed at the Florida Lottery main office in Tallahassee or one of the district offices.
    David J. Neal, Miami Herald, 21 Aug. 2025
Verb
  • Lifeguards have already rescued dozens of people from the churning waters along East Coast beaches even as Erin remains hundreds of miles offshore.
    Nicole Fallert, USA Today, 21 Aug. 2025
  • Minnesota’s starters collectively had a poor offensive night Tuesday, yet the Lynx bench almost rescued the team.
    Mike Cook, Twin Cities, 20 Aug. 2025
Verb
  • As previously reported in the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, Voss was badly injured and had to be mechanically extricated from her vehicle and then flown to Froedtert Hospital by Flight for Life helicopter from the parking lot of the Meijer store further east on Sunset Drive.
    Jim Riccioli, jsonline.com, 23 Aug. 2025
  • Bags, clothes and other belongings, caked in mud, lay scattered amid broken electric poles and mud on Friday, as rescue workers used ropes and crossed makeshift bridges in an attempt to extricate people from the debris.
    Fayaz Bukhari, USA Today, 15 Aug. 2025
Verb
  • Some of the cattle roaming the marsh are rumored to be the feral descendants of herds emancipated two decades ago by Hurricane Katrina, which made landfall about five miles upriver.
    Nathaniel Rich, Harpers Magazine, 20 Aug. 2025
  • Then there’s Haseena Ali, who went on to spearhead her very own non-profit in Balochistan to emancipate the women in her village.
    Sonya Rehman, Forbes.com, 29 July 2025
Verb
  • This means setting clear boundaries with technology, prioritizing time with people, and making a conscious choice to disengage when an interaction becomes negative.
    Cornelia C. Walther, Forbes.com, 17 Aug. 2025
  • Day 1 on the job, Lois is in deadly peril when a space shuttle launched from the back of a jet fails to disengage and rockets into space with the jet still attached and Lois onboard.
    Kirk Honeycutt, HollywoodReporter, 7 July 2025

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Cite this Entry

“Liberate.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/liberate. Accessed 31 Aug. 2025.

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