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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

2
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
What begins as a token of possession becomes, when Rose releases it to the sea, a monument to lost love and freedom. Lilah Ramzi, Vogue, 25 Oct. 2025 Nelson has also released 1994’s Christmas With Willie Nelson, 1997’s Hill Country Christmas, and 1995’s Pancho, Lefty, and Rudolph, a collaborative Xmas album with Merle Haggard. Daniel Kreps, Rolling Stone, 25 Oct. 2025
Noun
They were placed there by the California Department of Fish and Wildlife after being deemed unsuitable for wild release. Khloe Quill, FOXNews.com, 26 Oct. 2025 The team said in the release that a search for Stewart’s successor is underway. Laurence Miedema, Mercury News, 26 Oct. 2025 See All Example Sentences for release
Recent Examples of Synonyms for release
Verb
  • Torrential downpours and forceful winds have already unleashed widespread destruction along the storm’s path in Jamaica, Cuba and the Bahamas.
    Sophie Tanno, CNN Money, 30 Oct. 2025
  • Despite a complete media and communications blackout, making specifics hard to determine, videos trickled out of El Fasher showing the brutality being unleashed on the civilian population.
    Brady Knox, The Washington Examiner, 30 Oct. 2025
Verb
  • Thuram drags Tchouameni into the space on the left and Koopmeiners runs towards Cambiaso, freeing up Yildiz to receive in space.
    Anantaajith Raghuraman, New York Times, 25 Oct. 2025
  • Mele was freed when police linked Locci and Lo Bianco's murders to other killings that had happened when he was incarcerated.
    Emily Blackwood, PEOPLE, 25 Oct. 2025
Verb
  • That was the theater of ecstasy that would liberate him from the body.
    Mark Schilling, Variety, 29 Oct. 2025
  • Millions remain far from liberated from economic pressure, and few of us feel burdened by an excess of free time.
    Arianna Huffington, Fortune, 24 Oct. 2025
Verb
  • While this violation enrages the village’s women, the men who make up the Panchayat (village council) try and fail to cast her out of town.
    JSTOR Daily, JSTOR Daily, 30 Oct. 2025
  • Only Martin — cast as a Dickensian wretch by Bonitzer’s legion of myopic elites, but always quietly acting against type — reserves the right to determine his own worth.
    David Ehrlich, IndieWire, 29 Oct. 2025
Verb
  • Ryan Murphy has announced the main cast of the upcoming 13th season of American Horror Story, which will feature Ariana Grande making her debut on the show alongside series regulars such as Evan Peters and Emma Roberts.
    Hannah Dailey, Billboard, 31 Oct. 2025
  • The Jamaican government announced that a consortium of international organizations, including charities like Mercy Corps and Haiti Air Ambulance, with expertise in disaster relief and recovery, have arrived in the country and are working with the Jamaica Defense Force.
    Jacqueline Charles, Miami Herald, 31 Oct. 2025
Verb
  • He was sacked shortly after Christmas that season.
    Dermot Corrigan, New York Times, 31 Oct. 2025
  • Commanders defensive lineman Jer’Zhan Newton came through the Chiefs’ offensive line to sack Mahomes.
    Ryan Gaydos, FOXNews.com, 29 Oct. 2025
Noun
  • On Tuesday, the Alameda County District Attorney’s Office charged both suspects with shooting at an occupied dwelling and negligent discharge of a firearm, police said.
    Jason Green, Mercury News, 29 Oct. 2025
  • The events can also provide continued support and assistance from a veteran’s military discharge through every stage of the veteran’s life as their needs change over time.
    David Lightman, Sacbee.com, 28 Oct. 2025
Noun
  • For a time, immigration law allowed people who had reformed their lives to seek such waivers.
    Maryclaire Dale, Fortune, 29 Oct. 2025
  • Service members stationed in the Pacific recently received notice that enlistees with shaving waivers will not be allowed to attend Hegseth’s upcoming Camp Humphreys rally, according to military site Task & Purpose.
    Brian Niemietz, Mercury News, 29 Oct. 2025

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Cite this Entry

“Release.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/release. Accessed 2 Nov. 2025.

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