Liberal

7 definitions found

From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48 [gcide]:

  Liberal \Lib"er*al\ (l[i^]b"[~e]r*al), a. [F. lib['e]ral, L.
     liberalis, from liber free; perh. akin to libet, lubet, it
     pleases, E. lief. Cf. {Deliver}.]
     1. Free by birth; hence, befitting a freeman or gentleman;
        refined; noble; independent; free; not servile or mean;
        as, a liberal ancestry; a liberal spirit; liberal arts or


        studies. " Liberal education." --Macaulay. " A liberal
        tongue." --Shak.
        [1913 Webster]
  
     2. Bestowing in a large and noble way, as a freeman;
        generous; bounteous; open-handed; as, a liberal giver. "
        Liberal of praise." --Bacon.
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              Infinitely good, and of his good
              As liberal and free as infinite.      --Milton.
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     3. Bestowed in a large way; hence, more than sufficient;
        abundant; bountiful; ample; profuse; as, a liberal gift; a
        liberal discharge of matter or of water.
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              His wealth doth warrant a liberal dower. --Shak.
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     4. Not strict or rigorous; not confined or restricted to the
        literal sense; free; as, a liberal translation of a
        classic, or a liberal construction of law or of language.
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     5. Not narrow or contracted in mind; not selfish; enlarged in
        spirit; catholic.
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     6. Free to excess; regardless of law or moral restraint;
        licentious. " Most like a liberal villain." --Shak.
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     7. Not bound by orthodox tenets or established forms in
        political or religious philosophy; independent in opinion;
        not conservative; friendly to great freedom in the
        constitution or administration of government; having
        tendency toward democratic or republican, as distinguished
        from monarchical or aristocratic, forms; as, liberal
        thinkers; liberal Christians; the Liberal party.
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              I confess I see nothing liberal in this " order of
              thoughts," as Hobbes elsewhere expresses it.
                                                    --Hazlitt.
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     Note: Liberal has of, sometimes with, before the thing
           bestowed, in before a word signifying action, and to
           before a person or object on which anything is
           bestowed; as, to be liberal of praise or censure;
           liberal with money; liberal in giving; liberal to the
           poor.
           [1913 Webster]
  
     {The liberal arts}. See under {Art}.
  
     {Liberal education}, education that enlarges and disciplines
        the mind and makes it master of its own powers,
        irrespective of the particular business or profession one
        may follow.
        [1913 Webster]
  
     Syn: Generous; bountiful; munificent; beneficent; ample;
          large; profuse; free.
  
     Usage: {Liberal}, {Generous}. Liberal is freeborn, and
            generous is highborn. The former is opposed to the
            ordinary feelings of a servile state, and implies
            largeness of spirit in giving, judging, acting, etc.
            The latter expresses that nobleness of soul which is
            peculiarly appropriate to those of high rank, -- a
            spirit that goes out of self, and finds its enjoyment
            in consulting the feelings and happiness of others.
            Generosity is measured by the extent of the sacrifices
            it makes; liberality, by the warmth of feeling which
            it manifests.
            [1913 Webster]

From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48 [gcide]:

  Liberal \Lib"er*al\, n.
     One who favors greater freedom in political or religious
     matters; an opponent of the established systems; a reformer;
     in English politics, a member of the Liberal party, so
     called. Cf. {Whig}.
     [1913 Webster]

From WordNet (r) 2.0 [wn]:

  liberal
       adj 1: showing or characterized by broad-mindedness; "a broad
              political stance"; "generous and broad sympathies"; "a
              liberal newspaper"; "tolerant of his opponent's
              opinions" [syn: {broad}, {large-minded}, {tolerant}]
       2: having political or social views favoring reform and
          progress
       3: tolerant of change; not bound by authoritarianism,
          orthodoxy, or tradition [ant: {conservative}]
       4: given or giving freely; "was a big tipper"; "the bounteous
          goodness of God"; "bountiful compliments"; "a freehanded
          host"; "a handsome allowance"; "Saturday's child is loving
          and giving"; "a liberal backer of the arts"; "a munificent
          gift"; "her fond and openhanded grandfather" [syn: {big},
          {bighearted}, {bounteous}, {bountiful}, {freehanded}, {handsome},
           {giving}, {openhanded}]
       5: not literal; "a loose interpretation of what she had been
          told"; "a free translation of the poem" [syn: {free}, {loose}]
       n 1: a person who favors a political philosophy of progress and
            reform and the protection of civil liberties [syn: {progressive}]
            [ant: {conservative}]
       2: a person who favors an economic theory of laissez-faire and
          self-regulating markets

From Moby Thesaurus II by Grady Ward, 1.0 [moby-thes]:

  207 Moby Thesaurus words for "liberal":
     Gospel side, abounding, abundant, advanced, affluent,
     all-sufficing, amiable, ample, aplenty, benevolent, big,
     big person, bighearted, bottomless, bounteous, bountiful, broad,
     broad-gauge person, broad-minded, cantorial side, charitable,
     chivalrous, copious, cordial, counterclockwise, diffuse,
     disinterested, dispassionate, ecumenicist, effuse, eleemosynary,
     elevated, epidemic, exalted, exhaustless, extensive, extravagant,
     exuberant, fair, far-embracing, far-extending, far-flung,
     far-flying, far-going, far-ranging, far-reaching, fat, fertile,
     flexible, flush, forbearing, free, free lance, free spirit,
     free trader, freehanded, freehearted, freethinker, freethinking,
     friendly, full, galore, generous, genial, giving, gracious, great,
     great of heart, greathearted, handsome, hearty, heroic, high,
     high-minded, hospitable, humanistic, idealistic, impartial,
     in plenty, in quantity, independent, indiscriminate, individualist,
     individualistic, indulgent, inexhaustible, isolationist, knightly,
     larboard, large, large-scale, largehearted, latitudinarian, lavish,
     left, left hand, left of center, left wing, left-hand,
     left-hand side, left-wing, left-winger, left-wingish, leftist,
     lenient, levorotatory, liberalist, liberalistic, libertarian,
     libertine, lofty, loose, luxuriant, magnanimous, many, maximal,
     much, mugwump, munificent, near, near side, neighborly, neutral,
     nigh, noble, noble-minded, nonpartisan, numerous, on the left,
     open, open-handed, open-minded, openhanded, openhearted, opulent,
     overflowing, philanthropic, plenitudinous, plenteous, plentiful,
     plenty, port, port tack, portside, prevailing, prevalent, princely,
     prodigal, productive, profuse, profusive, progressive,
     progressivist, progressivistic, radical, rampant, receptive,
     reformer, reformist, replete, rich, rife, riotous,
     rugged individualist, running over, sinister, sinistral,
     sinistrocerebral, sinistrocular, sinistrogyrate, sinistrorse,
     stintless, sublime, superabundant, sweeping, teeming, third force,
     third world, tolerant, unbigoted, ungrudging, unjaundiced,
     unopinionated, unprejudiced, unselfish, unsparing, unstinted,
     unstinting, verso, warm, warmhearted, wealthy, welcoming,
     welfare stater, well-found, well-furnished, well-provided,
     well-stocked, wholesale, wide, wide-extended, wide-extending,
     wide-ranging, wide-reaching, wide-stretching, widespread,
     wrong side
  
  

From U.S. Gazetteer (1990) [gazetteer]:

  Liberal, KS (city, FIPS 39825)
    Location: 37.04472 N, 100.93553 W
    Population (1990): 16573 (6663 housing units)
    Area: 24.6 sq km (land), 0.0 sq km (water)
    Zip code(s): 67901
  Liberal, MO (city, FIPS 41906)
    Location: 37.55878 N, 94.51598 W
    Population (1990): 684 (339 housing units)
    Area: 2.1 sq km (land), 0.0 sq km (water)
    Zip code(s): 64762

From U.S. Gazetteer Places (2000) [gaz-place]:

  Liberal, MO -- U.S. city in Missouri
     Population (2000):    779
     Housing Units (2000): 361
     Land area (2000):     0.837014 sq. miles (2.167855 sq. km)
     Water area (2000):    0.006604 sq. miles (0.017103 sq. km)
     Total area (2000):    0.843618 sq. miles (2.184958 sq. km)
     FIPS code:            41906
     Located within:       Missouri (MO), FIPS 29
     Location:             37.558860 N, 94.520546 W
     ZIP Codes (1990):     64762
     Note: some ZIP codes may be omitted esp. for suburbs.
     Headwords:
      Liberal, MO
      Liberal
  

From U.S. Gazetteer Places (2000) [gaz-place]:

  Liberal, KS -- U.S. city in Kansas
     Population (2000):    19666
     Housing Units (2000): 7014
     Land area (2000):     11.058466 sq. miles (28.641294 sq. km)
     Water area (2000):    0.138334 sq. miles (0.358283 sq. km)
     Total area (2000):    11.196800 sq. miles (28.999577 sq. km)
     FIPS code:            39825
     Located within:       Kansas (KS), FIPS 20
     Location:             37.043418 N, 100.928133 W
     ZIP Codes (1990):     67901
     Note: some ZIP codes may be omitted esp. for suburbs.
     Headwords:
      Liberal, KS
      Liberal