Standard Lemma guide

liberalize

verb · 4 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.

  • UK, US: /ˈlɪbəɹəlaɪz/
  • Southern-England: Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.
  • CMU ARPABET: L IH1 B ER2 AH0 L AY2 Z Digits mark lexical stress: 1 primary, 2 secondary, 0 unstressed.

1

verb

Meaning 1

to make liberal, free.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: transitive

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

2

verb

Meaning 2

to become liberal, free.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: intransitive

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

3

verb

Meaning 3

make liberal or more liberal, of laws and rules

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: liberalise

Antonyms: none provided

Broader terms: change, alter, modify

Narrower terms: decontrol

4

verb

Meaning 4

become more liberal

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

Examples

  • The laws liberalized after Prohibition

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: liberalise

Antonyms: none provided

Broader terms: change

History

Etymology

Etymology tree English liberal Proto-Indo-European *-id- Proto-Indo-European *-yéti Proto-Indo-European *-idyéti Proto-Hellenic *-íďďō Ancient Greek -ῐ́ζω (-ĭ́zō)bor. Late Latin -izōder. Middle French -iserbor. Middle English -isen English -ize English liberalize From liberal + -ize.

Across languages

Translations

18 source translations are retained for this English entry.

  • Armenian: ազատականացնել (azatakanacʻnel) — to make liberal
  • Belarusian: лібералізава́ць (libjeralizavácʹ) — to make liberal
  • Catalan: liberalitzar — to make liberal
  • Dutch: liberaliseren — to make liberal
  • Finnish: vapauttaa — to make liberal
  • French: libéraliser — to make liberal
  • German: liberalisieren — to make liberal
  • Italian: liberalizzare — to make liberal
  • Piedmontese: liberalisé — to make liberal
  • Polish: liberalizować — to make liberal
  • Russian: освобожда́ть (osvoboždátʹ) — to make liberal
  • Russian: освободи́ть (osvobodítʹ) — to make liberal
  • Russian: либерализова́ть (liberalizovátʹ) — to make liberal
  • Ukrainian: лібералізува́ти (liberalizuváty) — to make liberal
  • Armenian: ազատականանալ (azatakananal) — to become liberal
  • Finnish: vapautua — to become liberal
  • French: se libéraliser — to become liberal
  • Russian: де́латься либера́льным (délatʹsja liberálʹnym) — to become liberal