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libertines - 2 dictionary results

lib⋅er⋅tine

  [lib-er-teen, -tin]
Use libertines in a Sentence
–noun
1. a person who is morally or sexually unrestrained, esp. a dissolute man; a profligate; rake.
2. a freethinker in religious matters.
3. a person freed from slavery in ancient Rome.
–adjective
4. free of moral, esp. sexual, restraint; dissolute; licentious.
5. freethinking in religious matters.
6. Archaic. unrestrained; uncontrolled.
Origin:
1350–1400; ME libertyn < L lībertīnus of a freedman (adj.), freedman (n.), equiv. to lībert(us) freedman (appar. by reanalysis of liber-tās liberty as libert-ās) + -īnus -ine 1

Synonyms:
1. roué, debauchee, lecher, sensualist. 4. amoral, sensual, lascivious, lewd.

Antonyms:
1. prude.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
Cite This Source Link To libertines
lib·er·tine   (lĭb'ər-tēn')   
n.  
  1. One who acts without moral restraint; a dissolute person.
  2. One who defies established religious precepts; a freethinker.
adj.  Morally unrestrained; dissolute.

[Middle English, freedman, from Latin lībertīnus, from lībertus, from līber, free; see leudh- in Indo-European roots.]
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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