freedom
English
Etymology
From Middle English fredom, freedom, from Old English frēodōm (“freedom, state of free-will, charter, emancipation, deliverance”), from Proto-Germanic *frijadōmaz (“freedom”), equivalent to free + -dom. Cognate with North Frisian fridoem (“freedom”), Dutch vrijdom (“freedom”), Low German frīdom (“freedom”), Middle High German vrītuom (“freedom”), Norwegian fridom (“freedom”).
Pronunciation
- enPR: frē'dəm, IPA(key): /ˈfɹiːdəm/
Audio (US) (file) Audio (file)
Noun
freedom (countable and uncountable, plural freedoms)
- (uncountable) The state of being free, of not being imprisoned or enslaved.
- Having recently been released from prison, he didn't know what to do with his newfound freedom.
- (countable) The lack of a specific constraint, or of constraints in general; a state of being free, unconstrained.
- 2013 June 7, Gary Younge, “Hypocrisy lies at heart of Manning prosecution”, in The Guardian Weekly, volume 188, number 26, page 18:
- The dispatches […] also exposed the blatant discrepancy between the west's professed values and actual foreign policies. Having lectured the Arab world about democracy for years, its collusion in suppressing freedom was undeniable as protesters were met by weaponry and tear gas made in the west, employed by a military trained by westerners.
- Freedom of speech is a basic democratic value.
- People in our city enjoy many freedoms.
- Every child has a right to freedom from fear and freedom from want.
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- Frankness; openness; unreservedness.
- (Can we date this quote?) John Milton
- I emboldened spake and freedom used.
- (Can we date this quote?) John Milton
- Improper familiarity; violation of the rules of decorum.
Usage notes
- Freedom from can be followed by various nouns, typically, fear, want, hunger, pain, hatred, disease, stress, depression, debt, poverty, necessity, violence, war, advertising, addiction, etc.
Synonyms
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Antonyms
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Derived terms
Terms derived from freedom (noun)
- academic freedom
- degree of freedom
- economic freedom
- financial freedom
- freedom fighter
- freedom fries
- freedom march
- freedom of assembly
- freedom of association
- freedom of the city
- freedom of contract
- freedom of expression
- freedom of movement
- freedom of petition
- freedom of religion
- freedom of speech
- freedom of the air
- freedom of the press
- freedom of the seas
- freedom ride
- freedom rider
- freedom to roam
- individual freedom
- let freedom ring
- political freedom
- unfreedom
- non-freedom
Translations
not being imprisoned or enslaved
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The lack of a specific constraint
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- The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables, removing any numbers. Numbers do not necessarily match those in definitions. See instructions at Wiktionary:Entry layout#Translations.
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Anagrams
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