— liberative, liberatory /lib"euhr euh tawr'ee, -tohr'ee/ , adj. — liberator , n.
/lib"euh rayt'/ , v.t., liberated, liberating .
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.
[ 1615-25; liberatus (ptp. of liberare to free), equiv. to libera- v. s. + -tus ptp. suffix. See LIBERAL, -ATE 1 ]
Syn. 1. deliver, unfetter, disenthrall, loose. See release .
Ant. 1. imprison; enthrall.