license 1 of 2

variants or licence

license

2 of 2

verb

variants also licence

Synonym Chooser

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

The words freedom and liberty are common synonyms of license. While all three words mean "the power or condition of acting without compulsion," license implies freedom specially granted or conceded and may connote an abuse of freedom.

freedom without responsibility may degenerate into license

Where would freedom be a reasonable alternative to license?

Although the words freedom and license have much in common, 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 liberty instead of license?

The synonyms liberty and license are sometimes interchangeable, but liberty suggests release from former restraint or compulsion.

the released prisoner had difficulty adjusting to his new liberty

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 license
Noun
Underly told reporters the agency is also aiming to add to the new database information about why an educator’s license was forfeited or taken away. Steven Martinez, jsonline.com, 5 Nov. 2025 News that the license would change hands came last month as part of the Gucci-parent Kering’s deal to sell its beauty business to L’Oréal. Footwear News, 5 Nov. 2025
Verb
Netflix has approached SiriusXM to license its video podcasts as part of its major push into the space, an insider tells The Hollywood Reporter. Caitlin Huston, HollywoodReporter, 5 Nov. 2025 Republicans have called on Underly to make the DPI's approach to investigating teacher licensing more transparent. Kayla Huynh, jsonline.com, 5 Nov. 2025 See All Example Sentences for license
Recent Examples of Synonyms for license
Noun
  • Used with the permission of the publisher, Simon & Schuster.
    Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 6 Nov. 2025
  • Revoke any unnecessary permissions immediately.
    Kurt Knutsson, FOXNews.com, 5 Nov. 2025
Noun
  • But last spring, the Kansas State Board of Education restored the district to full accreditation based on school officials’ plan for meeting state academic benchmarks.
    Matthew Kelly, Kansas City Star, 5 Nov. 2025
  • But the mandates also help colleges shovel heaps of bureaucratic muck—validating data for accreditation, carrying out enrollment, flagging troubled students, aggregating metrics of all kinds.
    Ian Bogost, The Atlantic, 4 Nov. 2025
Noun
  • However, attorneys representing businesses that sued the administration said using IEEPA in that way would require explicit authorization from Congress.
    Morgan Chalfant, semafor.com, 7 Nov. 2025
  • The agency, which handles employment authorization renewals, said its current processing time is four months in 80% of cases.
    Ethan Baron, Mercury News, 7 Nov. 2025
Verb
  • Rather than rob the story of its teeth, this enabled me to explore the pain, loneliness and personal demons of my characters with sympathy rather than stinging bite.
    Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 5 Nov. 2025
  • Advertisement On the Democratic side, Virginia’s legislature has begun the complicated process of working to amend the state constitution to enable redistricting.
    Solcyré Burga, Time, 5 Nov. 2025
Noun
  • While proponents of wearable technology in prisons and jails have described it as potentially lifesaving, privacy rights groups and even law enforcement officials say the devices can raise ethical and legal concerns and urge agencies to establish strict rules on data use, retention and consent.
    Kelly Davis, San Diego Union-Tribune, 8 Nov. 2025
  • Other information about the winner is released only with the winner's consent.
    Steven Martinez, jsonline.com, 8 Nov. 2025
Noun
  • The pause grants the White House more time to argue its case against the mandate, which critics say could have strained federal resources, while supporters viewed it as essential to safeguarding food security for millions of low-income Americans.
    Eva Roytburg, Fortune, 8 Nov. 2025
  • That 5-million-square-foot sorting and handling site temporarily closed midweek due to a cargo plane crash on location, already causing shipment delays ahead of the FAA mandate.
    Glenn Taylor, Sourcing Journal, 7 Nov. 2025
Noun
  • Strong geomagnetic storms can also spark bright, dynamic auroras, sometimes much farther into mid-latitudes than normal.
    Daisy Dobrijevic, Space.com, 6 Nov. 2025
  • Google’s plan is to launch the satellites into an orbit that would keep them in nearly continuous sunshine and receive up to eight times more solar power per year than a panel located on earth at mid-latitude.
    Reed Albergotti, semafor.com, 4 Nov. 2025
Verb
  • Under the new terms of the license, Chevron was authorized to pay fees and royalties to Venezuela in oil but not in cash, effectively reducing Chevron’s crude exports from the country by half, according to Reuters.
    Stefano Pozzebon, CNN Money, 11 Nov. 2025
  • This measure would authorize the city to issue $4,100,000 in bonds to pay off debt from bonds issued in 2018 and 2023.
    Arkansas Online, Arkansas Online, 10 Nov. 2025

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Cite this Entry

“License.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/license. Accessed 14 Nov. 2025.

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