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Liberating

 - 4 dictionary results

lib⋅er⋅ate

  [lib-uh-reyt]
Use Liberating in a Sentence
–verb (used with object), -at⋅ed, -at⋅ing.
1. to set free, as from imprisonment or bondage.
2. to free (a nation or area) from control by a foreign or oppressive government.
3. to free (a group or individual) from social or economic constraints or discrimination, esp. arising from traditional role expectations or bias.
4. to disengage; set free from combination, as a gas.
5. Slang. to steal or take over illegally: The soldiers liberated a consignment of cigarettes.
Origin:
1615–25; < L līberātus (ptp. of līberāre to free), equiv. to līberā- v. s. + -tus ptp. suffix. See liberal, -ate 1

Related forms:
lib⋅er⋅a⋅tive, lib⋅er⋅a⋅to⋅ry  [lib-er-uh-tawr-ee, -tohr-ee] , adjective
lib⋅er⋅a⋅tor, noun

Synonyms:
1. deliver, unfetter, disenthrall, loose. See release.

Antonyms:
1. imprison; enthrall.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
Cite This Source Link To Liberating
lib·er·ate   (lĭb'ə-rāt')   
tr.v.   lib·er·at·ed, lib·er·at·ing, lib·er·ates

  1. To set free, as from oppression, confinement, or foreign control.

  2. Chemistry To release (a gas, for example) from combination.

  3. Slang To obtain by illegal or stealthy action: tried to sell appliances that were liberated during the riot.


[Latin līberāre, līberāt-, from līber, free; see leudh- in Indo-European roots.]
lib'er·at'ing·ly adv., lib'er·a'tor n.
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Slang Dictionary
liberate

  1. tv.
    to steal something. (Originally military.) : We liberated a few reams of paper and a box of pens.
Dictionary of American Slang and Colloquial Expressions by Richard A. Spears.Fourth Edition.
Copyright 2007. Published by McGraw Hill.
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Word Origin & History

liberate 
1623, from L. liberatus, pp. of liberare "set free," from liber "free" (see liberal). Meaning "to free an occupied territory from the enemy" (often used ironically) is from 1944. Liberation is c.1440; liberation theology (1969) translates Sp. teologia de la liberación, coined 1968 by Peruvian priest Gustavo Gutiérrez.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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