Phrase guide

free speech

noun · 2 senses · updated from the 2026-07-25 local source snapshot

Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.

Sound

Pronunciation

Each Play button uses your device's default local English voice, or a natural local fallback. The selected voice name appears after playback. This is synthesized speech, not a source recording.

  • /fɹiː ˈspiːtʃ/
  • US: Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.

1

noun

Meaning 1

Freedom of speech; the ability or right to express one's opinions, particularly (strictly) the legal right to do so without the government forbidding it via laws, but also (loosely) the ability to do so without facing social repercussions, or one's employer firing one for it, or social media sites not hosting it on their platforms, etc.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: uncountable

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: freedom of speech

Antonyms: none provided

2

noun

Meaning 2

Speech which is protected by this right; public expression of one's opinions that is, or merits being, protected from restraint or censorship.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: uncountable

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

History

Etymology

No etymology was provided for this word.

Across languages

Translations

64 source translations are retained for this English entry.

  • Albanian: liri e të shprehurit — the right to express an opinion in public (freedom of speech)
  • Arabic: حُرِّيَّة اَلتَّعْبِير (ḥurriyyat at-taʕbīr) — the right to express an opinion in public (freedom of speech)
  • Arabic: حُرِّيَّة الْكَلَام — the right to express an opinion in public (freedom of speech)
  • Armenian: խոսքի ազատություն (xoskʻi azatutʻyun) — the right to express an opinion in public (freedom of speech)
  • Belarusian: свабо́да сло́ва (svabóda slóva) — the right to express an opinion in public (freedom of speech)
  • Bulgarian: свобода на слово (svoboda na slovo) — the right to express an opinion in public (freedom of speech)
  • Catalan: llibertat d'expressió — the right to express an opinion in public (freedom of speech)
  • Chinese Mandarin: 言論自由 /言论自由 (yánlùnzìyóu) — the right to express an opinion in public (freedom of speech)
  • Czech: svoboda slova — the right to express an opinion in public (freedom of speech)
  • Czech: svoboda projevu — the right to express an opinion in public (freedom of speech)
  • Czech: svoboda vyjadřování — the right to express an opinion in public (freedom of speech)
  • Danish: ytringsfrihed — the right to express an opinion in public (freedom of speech)
  • Dutch: vrijheid van meningsuiting — the right to express an opinion in public (freedom of speech)
  • Dutch: vrije meningsuiting — the right to express an opinion in public (freedom of speech)
  • Esperanto: parollibereco — the right to express an opinion in public (freedom of speech)
  • Estonian: sõnavabadus — the right to express an opinion in public (freedom of speech)
  • Finnish: sananvapaus — the right to express an opinion in public (freedom of speech)
  • French: liberté d'expression — the right to express an opinion in public (freedom of speech)
  • Galician: liberdade de expresión — the right to express an opinion in public (freedom of speech)
  • Georgian: სიტყვის თავისუფლება (siṭq̇vis tavisupleba) — the right to express an opinion in public (freedom of speech)
  • Georgian: აზრის თავისუფლება (azris tavisupleba) — the right to express an opinion in public (freedom of speech)
  • Georgian: გამოხატვის თავისუფლება (gamoxaṭvis tavisupleba) — the right to express an opinion in public (freedom of speech)
  • German: freie Meinungsäußerung — the right to express an opinion in public (freedom of speech)
  • German: Redefreiheit — the right to express an opinion in public (freedom of speech)
  • Greek: ελευθερία έκφρασης (elefthería ékfrasis) — the right to express an opinion in public (freedom of speech)
  • Ancient Greek: πᾰρρησῐ́ᾱ (părrhēsĭ́ā) — the right to express an opinion in public (freedom of speech)
  • Ancient Greek: ἰσηγορία (isēgoría) — the right to express an opinion in public (freedom of speech)
  • Ancient Greek: ἐλευθεροστομία (eleutherostomía) — the right to express an opinion in public (freedom of speech)
  • Hebrew: חופש הביטוי — the right to express an opinion in public (freedom of speech)
  • Hindi: अभिव्यक्ति की स्वतंत्रता (abhivyakti kī svatantratā) — the right to express an opinion in public (freedom of speech)
  • Hungarian: szólásszabadság — the right to express an opinion in public (freedom of speech)
  • Icelandic: málfrelsi — the right to express an opinion in public (freedom of speech)
  • Interlingua: libertate de parola — the right to express an opinion in public (freedom of speech)
  • Interlingua: libertate de expression — the right to express an opinion in public (freedom of speech)
  • Italian: libertà di parola — the right to express an opinion in public (freedom of speech)
  • Japanese: 言論の自由 (genron-no jiyū) — the right to express an opinion in public (freedom of speech)
  • Khmer: សេរីភាពបញ្ចេញមតិ (seerəyphiəp bɑɑbɑñcəñ mĕəʼteʼ) — the right to express an opinion in public (freedom of speech)
  • Korean: 표현의 자유 (pyohyeonui jayu) — the right to express an opinion in public (freedom of speech)
  • Latvian: vārda brīvība — the right to express an opinion in public (freedom of speech)
  • Lithuanian: žodžio laisvė — the right to express an opinion in public (freedom of speech)
  • Macedonian: слобода на говор (sloboda na govor) — the right to express an opinion in public (freedom of speech)
  • Māori: manawhiri kōrero — the right to express an opinion in public (freedom of speech)
  • Marathi: मुक्त भाषण (mukta bhāṣaṇ) — the right to express an opinion in public (freedom of speech)
  • Norwegian Bokmål: ytringsfrihet — the right to express an opinion in public (freedom of speech)
  • Norwegian Nynorsk: ytringsfridom — the right to express an opinion in public (freedom of speech)
  • Persian: آزادی بیان (âzâdi-ye bayân) — the right to express an opinion in public (freedom of speech)
  • Polish: wolność słowa — the right to express an opinion in public (freedom of speech)
  • Portuguese: liberdade de expressão — the right to express an opinion in public (freedom of speech)
  • Romanian: libertatea cuvântului — the right to express an opinion in public (freedom of speech)
  • Russian: свобо́да сло́ва (svobóda slóva) — the right to express an opinion in public (freedom of speech)
  • Scottish Gaelic: saorsa cainnte — the right to express an opinion in public (freedom of speech)
  • Serbo-Croatian: слобода говора — the right to express an opinion in public (freedom of speech)
  • Serbo-Croatian: sloboda govora — the right to express an opinion in public (freedom of speech)
  • Slovak: sloboda slova — the right to express an opinion in public (freedom of speech)
  • Slovene: svoboda govora — the right to express an opinion in public (freedom of speech)
  • Spanish: libertad de expresión — the right to express an opinion in public (freedom of speech)
  • Spanish: libertad de palabra — the right to express an opinion in public (freedom of speech)
  • Swahili: uhuru wa maoni — the right to express an opinion in public (freedom of speech)
  • Swedish: yttrandefrihet — the right to express an opinion in public (freedom of speech)
  • Thai: เสรีภาพในการพูด (săyree pâap nai gaan pôot) — the right to express an opinion in public (freedom of speech)
  • Turkish: ifade özgürlüğü — the right to express an opinion in public (freedom of speech)
  • Ukrainian: свобо́да сло́ва (svobóda slóva) — the right to express an opinion in public (freedom of speech)
  • Urdu: آزادی گفتار (āzādī guftār) — the right to express an opinion in public (freedom of speech)
  • Vietnamese: tự do ngôn luận — the right to express an opinion in public (freedom of speech)