free·dom (fr  d m)n. 1. The condition of being free of restraints. 2. Liberty of the person from slavery, detention, or oppression. 3. a. Political independence. b. Exemption from the arbitrary exercise of authority in the performance of a specific action; civil liberty: freedom of assembly. 4. Exemption from an unpleasant or onerous condition: freedom from want. 5. The capacity to exercise choice; free will: We have the freedom to do as we please all afternoon. 6. Ease or facility of movement: loose sports clothing, giving the wearer freedom. 7. Frankness or boldness; lack of modesty or reserve: the new freedom in movies and novels. 8. a. The right to unrestricted use; full access: was given the freedom of their research facilities. b. The right of enjoying all of the privileges of membership or citizenship: the freedom of the city. 9. A right or the power to engage in certain actions without control or interference: "the seductive freedoms and excesses of the picaresque form" (John W. Aldridge). [Middle English fredom, from Old English fr od m : fro, free; see free + -dm, -dom.]Synonyms: freedom, liberty, license These nouns refer to the power to act, speak, or think without externally imposed restraints. Freedom is the most general term: "In giving freedom to the slave, we assure freedom to the free" (Abraham Lincoln). Liberty stresses the power of free choice: "liberty, perfect liberty, to think, feel, do just as one pleases" (William Hazlitt). License sometimes denotes deliberate deviation from normally applicable rules or practices to achieve a desired effect: poetic license. Frequently, though, it denotes undue freedom: "the intolerable license with which the newspapers break . . . the rules of decorum" (Edmund Burke). |
freedom [ˈfriːdəm]
Freedom
2. a right or privilege, especially the right to vote.
2. Theology. the advocacy of the doctrine of free will. See also necessitarianism. — libertarian, n., adj.
2. the destroyer of freedom. — liberticidal, adj.
Freedom
- Abstract liberty, like other mere abstractions, is not to be found —Edmund Burke
- (They just) broke free like the water —Boris Pasternak
- Broke free like the sun rising out of the sea —Miller Williams
- Feels freedom like oxygen everywhere around him —John Updike
- Felt like a volatile gas released from a bottle —Olivia Manning
See Also: PHYSICAL FEELINGS
- Foot-loose as a ram —Irvin S. Cobb
- (I am) free as a breeze, free like a bird in the woodland wild, free like a gypsy, free like a child —Oscar Hammerstein, II, from lyric for Oklahoma
Hammerstein used the multiple simile to paint a picture of an unattached man bemoaning the speed with which his situation can change.
- Free as a fat bird —John D. MacDonald
- Free as air —Alexander Pope
The simile in full context is as follows: “Love, free as air at sight of human ties, spreads his light wings, and in a moment flies.”
- Free as a pig in a pen —Anon, from American song, “The Lane County Bachelor”
- Free, as happens in the downfall of habit when the mind, like an unguarded flame, bows and bends and seems about to blow from its holding —Virginia Woolf
- Free as is the wind —William Shakespeare
A popular variation attributed to James Montgomery is, “Free as the breeze.”
- Free as Nature first made man —John Dryden
- Free as Nature is —James Thompson
- Free as the grace of God and twice as plentiful —Anon
- Freed, like colored kites torn loose from their strings —Rainer Maria Rilke
- Freedom and responsibility are like Siamese twins, they die if they are parted —Lillian Smith
See Also: RELIABILITY
- Freedom is like drink. If you take any at all, you might as well take enough to make you happy for a while —Finley Peter Dunne
Several words have been changed from Dunne’s dialect: any was ‘nny,’ ‘for’ was ‘f’r.’
- Free speech is like garlic. If you are perfectly sure of yourself, you enjoy it and your friends tolerate it —Lynn White, Jr., Look, April 17, 1956
- Free will and determinism are like a game of cards. The hand that is dealt you represents determinism. The way you play your hand represents free will —Norman Cousins
- Independence, like honor, is a rocky island without a beach —Napoleon Bonaparte
- Independent as a hog on ice —American colloquialism, attributed to New England
- Independent as a wild horse —Anon
According to Irving Stone, author of The Passionate Journey, this simile was used to describe the father of his fictional biography’s hero, John Noble.
- A laissez-faire policy is like spoiling a child by saying he’ll turn out all right in the end. He will, if he’s made to —F. Scott Fitzgerald
- Liberty, like charity, must begin at home —James Conant
Yet another twist on that much adopted and adapted charity comparison.
- Perfect freedom is as necessary to the health and vigor of commerce, as it is to the health and vigor of citizenship —Patrick Henry
- There is no such thing as an achieved liberty; like electricity, there can be no substantial storage and it must be generated as it is enjoyed, or the lights go out —Robert H. Jackson
- Unrestricted like the rain —Mark Twain
Freedom
carte blanche Full discretionary power, unrestricted freedom, blanket permission; a blank check; literally, white paper or chart. In its original military usage, the term referred to the blank form used to indicate unconditional surrender, on which the victor could dictate his own terms. The phrase is now used only figuratively, and has been so used for some time:
Mr. Pitt, who had carte blanche given him, named every one of them. (Lord Chesterfield, Letters, 1766)
The figuratively synonymous blank check refers literally to an executed check on which the amount is left unspecified to be filled in by its bearer or receiver.
the coast is clear Nothing stands in the way of one’s progress or activity; there is little danger that anyone in authority will witness or interfere with one’s actions; “Go ahead, nobody’s looking.” This expression was originally used by smugglers to indicate that no coast guard was in the vicinity to prevent their landing or embarking. Its use is still largely limited to contexts implying wrongdoing, though such may range from mischievous misbehavior to criminal activity.
give a wide berth to To allow latitude, leeway, or freedom; to shun, to stay clear of; to remain a discreet distance from. Dating from the 17th century, berth is a nautical term which refers to a sufficient amount of space for a ship at anchor to swing freely, or enough distance for a ship under sail to avoid other ships, rocks, the shore, etc. Give or keep a wide berth gained currency in the 1800s and has since been used in nautical and nonnautical contexts.
I recommend you to keep a wide berth of me, sir. (William Makepeace Thackeray, The Newcomes, 1854)
give enough rope To give someone a considerable amount of freedom with the expectation that he will act in an embarrassing or self-destructive way; to grant just enough leeway that a person may set and fall into his own trap. This expression has been in use since the 17th century and is equally familiar in the longer version—give [someone] enough rope and [he’ll] hang himself. A rope is often used as a leash or rein to control freedom of movement. Perhaps this expression derives from the fact that it is easy to trip or become entangled by too much rope. The second half of the expression plays on the idea of a rope as a cord for hanging a person.
Give our Commentator but Rope, and he hangs himself. (Elkanah Settle, Reflections on Several of Mr. Dry den’s Plays, 1687)
no strings attached No stipulations or restrictions; no fine print. This common expression, perhaps an allusion to puppets that are controlled by strings, implies the lack of catches or hidden conditions in an undertaking or purchase. The phrase may be varied to assume its opposite sense.
The corporation … made its offer to California—an offer good for six months only, and having several untenable strings attached. (Sierra Club Bulletin, January, 1949)
| Noun | 1. |  freedom - the condition of being free; the power to act or speak or think without externally imposed restraintsstate - the way something is with respect to its main attributes; "the current state of knowledge"; "his state of health"; "in a weak financial state" academic freedom - the freedom of teachers and students to express their ideas in school without religious or political or institutional restrictions enfranchisement - freedom from political subjugation or servitude blank check, free hand - freedom to do as you see fit; "many have doubts about giving him a free hand to attack" free rein, play - the removal of constraints; "he gave free rein to his impulses"; "they gave full play to the artist's talent" freedom of the seas - the right of merchant ships to travel freely in international waters independence, independency - freedom from control or influence of another or others liberty - freedom of choice; "liberty of opinion"; "liberty of worship"; "liberty--perfect liberty--to think or feel or do just as one pleases"; "at liberty to choose whatever occupation one wishes" civil liberty, political liberty - one's freedom to exercise one's rights as guaranteed under the laws of the country liberty - personal freedom from servitude or confinement or oppression svoboda - (Russia) freedom |
| 2. | freedom - immunity from an obligation or duty immunity, unsusceptibility - the state of not being susceptible; "unsusceptibility to rust" amnesty - a period during which offenders are exempt from punishment diplomatic immunity - exemption from taxation or normal processes of law that is offered to diplomatic personnel in a foreign country indemnity - legal exemption from liability for damages impunity - exemption from punishment or loss grandfather clause - an exemption based on circumstances existing prior to the adoption of some policy; used to enfranchise illiterate whites in south after the American Civil War |
freedom
liberty slavery, imprisonment, dependence, captivity, bondage, servitude, thraldom
licence restriction, limitation
openness caution, restraint
like eleutheromania
"Freedom is always and exclusively freedom for the one who thinks differently" [Rosa Luxemburg Die Russische Revolution]
"We look forward to a world founded upon four essential human freedoms. The first is freedom of speech and expression ... The second is freedom of every person to worship God in his own way ... The third is freedom from want ... The fourth is freedom from fear" [Franklin D. Roosevelt annual message to Congress]
"Man was born free, and everywhere he is in chains" [Jean Jacques Rousseau The Social Contract]
"No human being, however great or powerful, was ever so free as a fish" [John Ruskin The Two Paths]
"Man is a free agent; were it otherwise, the priests would not damn him" [Voltaire Philosophical Dictionary]
"Perfect freedom is reserved for the man who lives by his own work and in that work does what he wants to do" [R.G. Collingwood Speculum Mentis]
"Freedom is the freedom to say that two plus two make four. If that is granted, all else follows" [George Orwell Nineteen Eighty-Four]
freedom of action → libertad f de acción
freedom of association → libertad f de asociación
freedom of choice → libertad f de elección
freedom of information → libertad f de información
Freedom of Information Act (US) → ley f del derecho a la información
freedom of the press → libertad f de prensa
freedom of speech → libertad f de expresión
freedom of worship → libertad f de culto
to give sb the freedom of a city → hacer a algn ciudadano honorífico or hijo predilecto de la ciudad
she found her sudden freedom from responsibility exhilarating → viéndose de repente liberada de sus responsabilidades, se sentía eufórica
freedom of speech → liberté de parole
freedom of choice → liberté de choix
freedom of movement → liberté f de mouvement
freedom fighter n → guérillero m
freedom of expression n → liberté f d'expression
Freedom of Information Act n → loi f sur la liberté d'information
free enterprise n → libre entreprise f
free fall n
freefall parachuting n → chute f libre
free-floating [ˌfriːfləʊtɪŋ] adj
free-for-all [ˈfriːfərɔːl] n → mêlée f générale
free gift n → cadeau m promotionnel
to give sb the freedom of one's house → mettere la propria casa a disposizione di qn
the freedom of the press → la libertà di stampa
to give sb the freedom of the city → dare a qn la cittadinanza onoraria
freedom of speech → libertà di parola
freedom of movement → libertà di movimento
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