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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
Prosecutor to decide whether to release officers’ names Per the city’s policy, all of the officers, who haven’t been identified, were placed on administrative leave immediately after the shooting, Pocatello Mayor Brian Blad said in a statement. Alex Brizee, Idaho Statesman, 14 Apr. 2025 Police were expected to release more information later Friday. Crimesider Staff, CBS News, 14 Apr. 2025
Noun
In a Thursday night news release, Sellenriek Construction CEO Steve Sellenriek wrote that the explosion occurred after the employee struck an unmarked underground gas line while attempting to install fiber optic cable. Eric Adler, Kansas City Star, 17 Apr. 2025 Integra said in its news release that the submission of the mining plan of operations triggers the BLM to begin evaluating potential environmental impacts of the project, which will then lead to a public comment period and other government analyses. Nicole Blanchard, Idaho Statesman, 17 Apr. 2025 See All Example Sentences for release
Recent Examples of Synonyms for release
Verb
  • Ackman has been waging a public campaign to pause the policy for the past week as the market has taken significant hits since the Trump administration unleashed global tariffs on U.S. allies and adversaries.
    Joey Garrison, USA Today, 9 Apr. 2025
  • With 12 shutouts in 14 games and champions of the Boras Classic South, Corona gets to unleash its pitching depth once again.
    Eric Sondheimer, Los Angeles Times, 8 Apr. 2025
Verb
  • One hand is freed just long enough to hold the receiver when making phone calls.
    Milena Malaver, Miami Herald, 9 Apr. 2025
  • By eliminating or at least reducing manual, error-prone processes, these applications free up finance teams to focus on strategic initiatives like scaling operations and optimizing capital allocation.
    Carlos Vega, Forbes.com, 9 Apr. 2025
Verb
  • Photo: Courtesy of Hannah Jackson Eighty years ago today, on April 11, 1945, Morris was liberated from the Buchenwald concentration camp in Weimar, Germany.
    Hannah Jackson, Vogue, 11 Apr. 2025
  • In liberating Hollywood movies from the social context, younger viewers also liberated them from their commercial roots, from the very notion of popularity, which was central to Kael’s understanding of the art of movies.
    Richard Brody, New Yorker, 8 Apr. 2025
Verb
  • The eight-episode project also has been quietly casting, with relative newcomer Summer H. Howell (Hunter Hunter) in negotiations for the title character, Carrie White, and Siena Agudong (Resident Evil) set as her nemesis, Sue Snell.
    Nellie Andreeva, Deadline, 10 Apr. 2025
  • In Grand Junction, the new regime cast a fresh eye on the rare fish.
    Luke Cyphers, Sportico.com, 10 Apr. 2025
Verb
  • Last week, President Trump, against the advice of almost every professional economist, announced substantial tariffs on almost every country in the world, thereby launching an economic war--a global trade war.
    Steve Denning, Forbes.com, 7 Apr. 2025
  • Just last month, Krispy Kreme also announced another collection of limited-time treats as a part of its annual Chocomania celebrations.
    Charlotte Phillipp, People.com, 7 Apr. 2025
Verb
  • The city was sacked again — this time by the Turks — and incorporated into the Ottoman Empire.
    Danuta Hamlin, FOXNews.com, 13 Apr. 2025
  • At the crossroads of Roman roads in ancient Gaul, Cassel was sacked by the Vikings in the late 9th century, and later became a 17th-century war prize fought over by France and Spain.
    Mary Winston Nicklin, AFAR Media, 7 Apr. 2025
Noun
  • Luna, a cosponsor of the bill, moved to bypass leadership and launched a discharge petition, a procedural move that allows a measure to move forward without the speaker's approval, to force a vote on it.
    Caitlin Yilek, CBS News, 7 Apr. 2025
  • In light of the deal, sources said Rep. Luna will not trigger her bipartisan discharge petition -- which has 218 signatures -- to allow mothers and fathers to vote remotely for up to 12 weeks after childbirth.
    Lauren Peller, ABC News, 6 Apr. 2025
Noun
  • Accepting a trade to Anaheim allowed Trouba to have some control over his destination, as opposed to being put on waivers and being exposed to 31 teams.
    Eric Stephens, New York Times, 28 Mar. 2025
  • Alternately, Primack proposes that Chisholm ask for a one-time waiver from the NBA, gambling that the record sticker tag of the sale (which does not even include a stake in the Celtics' home arena, TD Garden) would probably dissuade the league's other owners from turning down such an agreement.
    Paul Du Quenoy, MSNBC Newsweek, 28 Mar. 2025

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Cite this Entry

“Release.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/release. Accessed 20 Apr. 2025.

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