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Definition of releasenext
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release

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noun

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as in discharge
a freeing from an obligation or responsibility because they had legally declared bankruptcy, they received release from their debt

Synonyms & Similar Words

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as in waiver
a document containing a declaration of an intentional giving up of a right, claim, or privilege we had to sign a liability release before they'd let us go rock climbing on their property

Synonyms & Similar Words

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Synonym Chooser

How does the verb release differ from other similar words?

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

In what contexts can emancipate take the place of release?

The meanings of emancipate and release largely overlap; however, emancipate implies the liberation of a person from subjection or domination.

labor-saving devices emancipated us from household drudgery

When would free be a good substitute for release?

The words free and release can be used in similar contexts, but free implies a usually permanent removal from whatever binds, confines, entangles, or oppresses.

freed the animals from their cages

When might liberate be a better fit than release?

While in some cases nearly identical to release, liberate stresses particularly the resulting state of liberty.

liberated their country from the tyrant

When is manumit a more appropriate choice than release?

Although the words manumit and release have much in common, manumit implies emancipation from slavery.

the document manumitted the slaves

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 release
Verb
The Department of Justice on Friday released millions of additional pages of documents related to Epstein, along with more than 2,000 videos and 180,000 images, Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche said. Lora Kolodny, CNBC, 31 Jan. 2026 In bond court on Thursday, his attorney argued he should be released on his own recognizance. Nikiya Carrero, CBS News, 30 Jan. 2026
Noun
The news release marked the first time sheriff’s officials identified the gunman found dead in the two-story home in the 5400 block of Mill Water Circle in Rancho Cordova. Rosalio Ahumada, Sacbee.com, 29 Jan. 2026 The restaurant chain, which was founded in 2012 in Florida, continues to expand nationwide with 33 stores in eight states, according to a news release. Lucia Cheng, Des Moines Register, 29 Jan. 2026 See All Example Sentences for release
Recent Examples of Synonyms for release
Verb
  • For example, the higher estimates for the infamous August 2013 East Ghoutta chemical weapons attack, which saw sarin nerve gas unleashed on an urban civilian area, are 1,500 dead.
    Paul Iddon, Forbes.com, 27 Jan. 2026
  • The societies that can advance to the frontiers of the productive power that capitalism unleashes while maintaining their coherence and élan advance to the front of the race for international status and power.
    Walter Russell Mead, The Atlantic, 24 Jan. 2026
Verb
  • By smashing together heavy atoms of lead traveling at near-light speeds using the Large Hadron Collider (LHC), scientists can create a high-energy environment that briefly frees gluons and quarks from this atomic bondage, recreating the quark-gluon plasma of the early universe.
    Robert Lea, Space.com, 30 Jan. 2026
  • Though fumble recoveries are mostly about good fortune, the process of freeing the ball can often be technique-driven.
    Jesse Newell, New York Times, 30 Jan. 2026
Verb
  • She was sent to Ravensbrück and then to Bergen-Belsen, where she was liberated by the British Army in April 1945.
    Vanessa Gera, Los Angeles Times, 27 Jan. 2026
  • Art is a beautiful way of showing Black children, and children in general, that Black people are beautiful, and that our stories and the stories of our families move us forward and liberate us as well.
    Lynnette Nicholas, Parents, 27 Jan. 2026
Verb
  • Last year’s relentlessly twisty The Girlfriend, on Prime Video, cast Olivia Cooke as a slightly unhinged working-class striver at odds with her upper-crust boyfriend’s even more deranged mother (Wright).
    Judy Berman, Time, 30 Jan. 2026
  • Cultural shifts—including recent documentaries and a biopic—have cast Milli Vanilli in a more sympathetic light, with Morvan remaining zen about the Grammy outcome.
    Christine Terrisse, Los Angeles Times, 30 Jan. 2026
Verb
  • The Department of Homeland Security announced the termination of TPS designation for immigrants from multiple countries, including Honduras, Nepal and South Sudan, though federal judges have stymied many of those efforts.
    Tami Luhby, CNN Money, 1 Feb. 2026
  • The New Federal Theatre (NFT), his company dedicated to amplifying the voices of Black and other underrepresented artists, announced that King died of complications from emergency heart surgery on Thursday at Weill Cornell Medical Center in New York City.
    Glenn Garner, Deadline, 31 Jan. 2026
Verb
  • Carroll guided Chin to the junior world title at 13 before Marjorie sacked him, too, for John Nicks, who had trained the likes of Peggy Fleming, Tai Babilonia, Randy Gardner, and later, Yamaguchi and Sasha Cohen.
    Kevin Baxter, Los Angeles Times, 1 Feb. 2026
  • Maye has been sacked 15 times across his three postseason outings, and Campbell has been routinely beaten by upper-echelon pass rushers on the left side of the line.
    Jacob Camenker, USA Today, 1 Feb. 2026
Noun
  • Prohibit the discharge of any youth to homelessness.
    Sarah Healy Eagan, Hartford Courant, 27 Jan. 2026
  • There are claims about negligent or accidental discharges.
    Jennifer Mayerle, CBS News, 27 Jan. 2026
Noun
  • Many airlines are still offering travel waivers, allowing customers to change their plans at no additional cost.
    Dan Raby, CBS News, 26 Jan. 2026
  • The latest changes include financial incentives for appropriate downtown commercial-to-residential conversion projects, including a 100% waiver of building and construction taxes and a 50% reduction of park impact fees for the first 500 units, as the office market continues to struggle.
    Devan Patel, Mercury News, 26 Jan. 2026

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Cite this Entry

“Release.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/release. Accessed 3 Feb. 2026.

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