freedom
Language: English
Part of speech: noun
Pronunciation: enpr: frē'dəm
ipa: /ˈfɹiːdəm/
ipa: /ˈfɹidəm/
rhymes: -iːdəm
Forms: form: freedoms
Etymology: From Middle English fredom, freedom, from Old English frēodōm (“freedom, state of free-will, charter, emancipation, deliverance”), from Proto-West Germanic *frijadōm (“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”).
Senses: examples: text: Having recently been released from prison, he didn't know what to do with his newfound freedom.
text: Well Russia at the present time is at a crossroads. It is often said that the Cold War is over and that the West has won it- that's only half true. Because what has happened is that the communists have been defeated, but the ideas of freedom now are on trial. If they don't work, there will be a reversion to, not communism which has failed, but what I call a new despotism which would pose a mortal danger to the rest of the world because it would be infected with the virus of Russian imperialism which of course has been a characteristic of Russian foreign policy for centuries.
ref: 1992 March 30, Richard Nixon, 13:46 from the start, in Richard Nixon on ‘Inside Washington’, Richard Nixon Foundation, via Seoul Broadcasting System, archived from the original on 09 Oct 2017:
text: However, the next generation of innovators to benefit from this freedom – Google, Facebook, Amazon, Microsoft, Apple et al – saw no reason to extend it to anyone else.
ref: 2024 May 4, John Naughton, “The internet is in decline – it needs rewilding”, in The Guardian:
synonyms: freehood
glosses: The state of being free.
examples: text: The spice exists on only one planet in the entire universe- a desolate, dry planet with vast deserts. Hidden away within the rocks of these deserts are a people known as the Fremen, who have long held a prophecy, that a man would come, a messiah, who would lead them to true freedom. The planet is Arrakis, also known as Dune.
ref: 1984, 1:50 from the start, in Dune (Science Fiction), spoken by Princess Irulan, →OCLC:
text: China's experience reminded me of the French and Russian revolutions. The pattern was the same: People seized control by promising to promote certain ideals. Once they had consolidated power, they abused it, casting aside their beliefs and brutalizing their fellow citizens. It was as if mankind had a sickness that it kept inflicting on itself. The sobering thought deepened my conviction that freedom— economic, political, and religious — is the only fair and productive way of governing a society.
ref: 2010, George W. Bush, Decision Points, →ISBN, →OCLC, →OL, page 23:
text: 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.
ref: 2013 June 7, Gary Younge, “Hypocrisy lies at heart of Manning prosecution”, in The Guardian Weekly, volume 188, number 26, page 18:
text: “When I lived in North Korea, I never had the freedom to wear what I wanted, but I never questioned it because I didn’t know this freedom existed,” said Jihyun Kang, 31, who grew up in Chongjin, the third-largest city in North Korea.
ref: 2021 August 4, Hahna Yoon, “Tracing Freedom to a Pair of Jeans”, in The New York Times, →ISSN, →OCLC, archived from the original on 04 Aug 2021:
text: Freedom of speech is a basic democratic value.
text: People in our city enjoy many freedoms.
text: Every child has a right to freedom from fear and freedom from want.
synonyms: freeness
glosses: The lack of a specific constraint, or of constraints in general; a state of being free, unconstrained.
examples: text: Freedom of a city
text: Yet the wisest princes, who adopted the maxims of Augustus, guarded with the strictest care the dignity of the Roman name, and diffused the freedom of the city with a prudent liberality.
ref: 1776, Edward Gibbon, “2i”, in The History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire, volume I, London: […] W[illiam] Strahan; and T[homas] Cadell, […], →OCLC:
text: The freedom of the city can now only be acquired by birth or servitude; but many were formerly admitted by gift and purchase, a fine of from £ 3 to £ 25, according to trade, being charged on the admission of strangers.
ref: 1854, History, Gazetteer, and Directory, of Norfolk, and the City and County of the City of Norwich ... (Sheffield, Francis White & Co.), p 77
glosses: The right or privilege of unrestricted use or access
examples: text: I doubt not, that you will take amiss my freedom; but as you have deserved it from me, I shall be less and less concerned on that score, as I see you are more and more intent to show your wit at the expense of justice and compassion.
ref: 1748, [Samuel Richardson], “Letter L”, in Clarissa. Or, The History of a Young Lady: […], volume (please specify |volume=I to VII), London: […] S[amuel] Richardson; […], →OCLC:
glosses: Frankness; openness; unreservedness.
examples: text: "A first love is not easily extinguished, Mr. Allanson," said she. "You may guess from my appearance, that I have been fortunate in life; but, for all that, my first love for you has continued the same, unaltered and unchanged, and you must forgive the little freedoms I used to-day to try your affections, and the effects my appearance would have on you."
ref: 1828, James Hogg, Mary Burnet:
glosses: Improper familiarity; violation of the rules of decorum.
Synonyms: liberty
license
exemption
Hyponyms: academic freedom
associational freedom
contractual freedom
cyberfreedom
economic freedom
expressional freedom
financial freedom
Four Freedoms
freedom of assembly
freedom of association
freedom of choice
freedom of conscience
freedom of contract
freedom of establishment
freedom of expression
freedom of information
freedom of inquiry
freedom of movement
freedom of navigation
freedom of opinion
freedom of panorama
freedom of petition
freedom of religion
freedom of speech
freedom of the air
freedom of the city
freedom of the press
freedom of the seas
freedom of thought
freedom of trade
individual freedom
intellectual freedom
morphological freedom
political freedom
religious freedom
topfreedom
Derived terms: antifreedom
degree of freedom
enfreedom
fifth freedom rights
first freedom rights
fourth freedom rights
free as in freedom
freedom ain't free
freedom bread
freedom-camp
freedom camp
freedom camper
freedom camping
freedom colony
freedom dressing
freedom fight
freedom fighter
freedom fighting
freedom fine
freedom freckles
freedom fries
freedom gas
freedomism
freedom is not free
freedom isn't free
Freedomite
freedom kiss
freedomless
freedom march
freedom ride
freedom rider
freedom school
freedom tickler
freedom toast
freedom to roam
freedom units
freedomware
freedumb
freetard
Gay Freedom Day
let freedom ring
my people yearn for freedom
nonfreedom
non-freedom
overfreedom
second freedom rights
third freedom rights