freedom
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dəmRelated forms
1. Freedom, independence, liberty refer to an absence of undue restrictions and an opportunity to exercise one's rights and powers. Freedom emphasizes the opportunity given for the exercise of one's rights, powers, desires, or the like: freedom of speech or conscience; freedom of movement. Independence implies not only lack of restrictions but also the ability to stand alone, unsustained by anything else: Independence of thought promotes invention and discovery. Liberty though most often interchanged with freedom is also used to imply undue exercise of freedom: He took liberties with the text. 9. openness, ingenuousness. 12. license. 16. run.
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2013.
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| an arrangement of five objects, as trees, in a square or rectangle, one at each corner and one in the middle. |
| a calculus or concretion found in the stomach or intestines of certain animals, esp. ruminants, formerly reputed to be an effective remedy for poison. |
freedom (ˈfriːdəm) ![[Click for IPA pronunciation guide]](http://static.sfdict.com/dictstatic/g/d/dictionary_questionbutton_default.gif) | |
| —n | |
| 1. | personal liberty, as from slavery, bondage, serfdom, etc |
| 2. | liberation or deliverance, as from confinement or bondage |
| 3. | the quality or state of being free, esp to enjoy political and civil liberties |
| 4. | ( |
| 5. | the right or privilege of unrestricted use or access: the freedom of a city |
| 6. | autonomy, self-government, or independence |
| 7. | the power or liberty to order one's own actions |
| 8. | philosophy the quality, esp of the will or the individual, of not being totally constrained; able to choose between alternative actions in identical circumstances |
| 9. | ease or frankness of manner; candour: she talked with complete freedom |
| 10. | excessive familiarity of manner; boldness |
| 11. | ease and grace, as of movement; lack of effort |
| [Old English frēodōm] | |
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freedom
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Freedom definition
The law of Moses pointed out the cases in which the servants of the Hebrews were to receive their freedom (Ex. 21:2-4, 7, 8; Lev. 25:39-42, 47-55; Deut. 15:12-18). Under the Roman law the "freeman" (ingenuus) was one born free; the "freedman" (libertinus) was a manumitted slave, and had not equal rights with the freeman (Acts 22:28; comp. Acts 16:37-39; 21:39; 22:25; 25:11, 12).
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freedom
in humans, the power or capacity to choose among alternatives or to act in certain situations independently of natural, social, or divine restraints. Free will is denied by those who espouse any of various forms of determinism. Arguments for free will are based on the subjective experience of freedom, on sentiments of guilt, on revealed religion, and on the universal supposition of responsibility for personal actions that underlies the concepts of law, reward, punishment, and incentive. In theology, the existence of free will must be reconciled with God's omniscience and goodness (in allowing man to choose badly), and with divine grace, which allegedly is necessary for any meritorious act. A prominent feature of modern Existentialism is the concept of a radical, perpetual, and frequently agonizing freedom of choice. Jean-Paul Sartre, for example, speaks of the individual "condemned to be free" even though his situation may be wholly determined.
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