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freedom

   Also found in: Legal, Encyclopedia, Wikipedia, Hutchinson 0.03 sec.
free·dom  (frdm)
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 frodm : 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
Noun
1. the state of being free, esp. to enjoy political and civil liberties
2. exemption or immunity: freedom from government control
3. liberation, such as from slavery
4. the right or privilege of unrestricted access: freedom of the skies
5. self-government or independence
6. the power to order one's own actions
7. ease or frankness of manner

Freedom
independent self-rule free from outside influence.
a doctrine of or belief in social equality or the right of all people to participate equally in politics.
Rare. a strong desire for freedom.
an abnormal fear of freedom.
1. a condition of freedom.
2. a right or privilege, especially the right to vote.
1. the advocacy of freedom, especially in thought or conduct.
2. Theology. the advocacy of the doctrine of free will. See also necessitarianism. — libertarian, n., adj.
1. the destruction of freedom.
2. the destroyer of freedom. — liberticidal, adj.
the act of setting free or being set free from slavery; emancipation.
ThesaurusLegend:  Synonyms Related Words Antonyms
Noun1.freedomfreedom - the condition of being free; the power to act or speak or think without externally imposed restraints
state - 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
noun 3. (usually with from) exemption, release, relief, privilege, immunity, impunity
noun 5. openness, ease, directness, naturalness, abandon, familiarity, candour, frankness, informality, casualness, ingenuousness, lack of restraint or reserve, unconstraint << OPPOSITE restraint
Translations
Spanish freedom [ˈfriːdəm] nlibertad f;
freedom of association → libertad de asociación

French freedom [ˈfriːdəm] free nliberté f
German freedom [ˈfriːdəm] free nFreiheit f
Italian freedom [ˈfriːdəm] nlibertà

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The abolition of bourgeois individuality, bourgeois independence, and bourgeois freedom is undoubtedly aimed at.
So far as I can now recall, the first knowledge that I got of the fact that we were slaves, and that freedom of the slaves was being discussed, was early one morning before day, when I was awakened by my mother kneeling over her children and fervently praying that Lincoln and his armies might be successful, and that one day she and her children might be free.
But in the loneliest wilderness happeneth the second metamorphosis: here the spirit becometh a lion; freedom will it capture, and lordship in its own wilderness.
 
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