Synonym Chooser

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

The words freedom and license are common synonyms of liberty. While all three words mean "the power or condition of acting without compulsion," liberty suggests release from former restraint or compulsion.

the released prisoner had difficulty adjusting to his new liberty

When could freedom be used to replace liberty?

In some situations, the words freedom and liberty are roughly equivalent. However, 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 is it sensible to use license instead of liberty?

Although the words license and liberty have much in common, 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 liberty Bruce has always been as pro-American with his values and liberty, and his justice has always remained intact. David Browne, Rolling Stone, 28 May 2025 Fourth of July fireworks at the University of North Georgia gave us cause to talk about the real meaning of freedom, of liberty for all, and the sacrifices made by those who truly value those concepts. John Archibald, Southern Living, 25 May 2025 But the issues surrounding religious liberty and whether charters should be defined as public schools remain. Sophie Hills, Christian Science Monitor, 22 May 2025 Not just the numbers of soldiers but separate liberties from different houses. Destiny Jackson, Deadline, 22 May 2025 See All Example Sentences for liberty
Recent Examples of Synonyms for liberty
Noun
  • This is a game of choices — difficult ones, at that — in which tasks range from finding your wife and offering gifts to friends, to speaking with a skeleton who can see through time and dethroning God.
    Matt Gardner, Forbes.com, 8 June 2025
  • That’s life, and that something that also drove our artistic choices to a heartwarming visual style, retaining proximity with our main character throughout her ups and downs that also manifest in the film’s palette.
    Kevin Giraud, Variety, 8 June 2025
Noun
  • The study's authors and outside experts point to the job-demand-control model—a theory that suggests autonomy (control over tasks and schedules) buffers against job stress and its physiological effects.
    Caroline Castrillon, Forbes.com, 8 June 2025
  • Transportation is key to independence, and when older adults lose the ability to drive that's often the beginning of the end of their autonomy, said Seth Sternberg, CEO and co-founder of Honor, an in-home care provider.
    Madeline Mitchell, USA Today, 7 June 2025
Noun
  • With its future coverage options limited, Michigan State created a captive insurance company, Lysander Series, to provide general liability coverage.
    Michael McCann, Sportico.com, 9 June 2025
  • If finding indoor shelter is not an option: Steer clear of open fields, hilltops, or ridge tops.
    NC Weather Bot, Charlotte Observer, 9 June 2025
Noun
  • The next wave of policy will not be about fine-tuning compliance frameworks but will be about defending digital sovereignty.
    Emil Sayegh, Forbes.com, 7 June 2025
  • Though voting occurred solely within Venezuelan borders, the act was a clear assertion of sovereignty.
    Antonio Maria Delgado, Miami Herald, 6 June 2025
Noun
  • However, Gomez said, the overall takeaway from the L.A. event was just how pervasive the sense of fear for press freedom has become.
    Liam Reilly, CNN Money, 5 June 2025
  • To visit these places is to be shocked anew by the savagery that was the defining trait of the Jim Crow South — and the astonishing courage of the people who took part in the struggle for freedom and justice.
    Steve Chapman, Chicago Tribune, 4 June 2025
Noun
  • And one of the fastest ways to lose it is poor communication.
    Julian Hayes II, Forbes.com, 7 June 2025
  • The difficulty is knowing where to look when a landscape is constantly changing in unpredictable ways.
    Laura Paddison, CNN Money, 7 June 2025
Noun
  • Mossad leadership has in past decades made direct contact with Iraqi Kurdish officials, and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was the first and potentially only world leader to support the KRG's independence bid in 2017, prompting further regional backlash.
    Tom O'Connor, MSNBC Newsweek, 30 May 2025
  • The Athletic maintains full editorial independence.
    Steven Louis Goldstein, New York Times, 30 May 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

Browse Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Liberty.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/liberty. Accessed 13 Jun. 2025.

More from Merriam-Webster on liberty

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!