lib ‧ er ‧ ty /ˈlɪbəti $ -ər-/ BrE AmE noun ( plural liberties )
[ Date: 1300-1400 ; Language: French ; Origin: liberté , from Latin libertas , from liber 'free' ]
1 . FREEDOM [uncountable] the freedom and the right to do whatever you want without asking permission or being afraid of authority:
the fight for liberty and equality
individual/personal liberty
threats to individual liberty
religious/political/economic liberty
struggles for political liberty
2 . LEGAL RIGHT [countable usually plural] a particular legal right:
liberties such as freedom of speech
⇨ ↑ civil liberty
3 . WITHOUT PERMISSION [singular] something you do without asking permission, especially which may offend or upset someone else
take the liberty of doing something
I took the liberty of cancelling your reservation.
4 . be at liberty to do something formal to have the right or permission to do something:
I am not at liberty to discuss these matters.
5 . take liberties with somebody/something
a) to make unreasonable changes in something such as a piece of writing:
The film-makers took too many liberties with the original novel.
b) old-fashioned to treat someone without respect by being too friendly too quickly, especially in a sexual way:
He’s been taking liberties with our female staff.
6 . at liberty formal if a prisoner or an animal is at liberty, they are no longer in prison or enclosed in a small place SYN free
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COLLOCATIONS
■ adjectives
▪ individual/personal liberty
Any law that increases police power may be seen as a threat to individual liberty.
▪ religious liberty
The American Constitution protects religious liberty.
▪ political liberty
The party has a tradition of fighting for increased political liberty.
▪ economic liberty
The country is slowly moving towards democracy and economic liberty.
■ verbs
▪ protect somebody's liberty
The right to vote is one of the most powerful means we have to protect our liberty.
▪ deprive somebody of their liberty (=take liberty away from someone)
a prisoner who has been deprived of his liberty
▪ infringe on/restrict somebody's liberty (=limit someone's liberty)
Will the new security measures infringe on our liberty?
▪ threaten somebody's liberty
The government should not be so strong that it threatens individual liberty.