Wiktionary

liberal

See also: Liberal, liberał, liberál, and libéral

English

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Etymology

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The adjective is from Old French liberal, from Latin līberālis (“befitting a freeman”), from līber (“free”); it is attested since the 14th century. The noun is first attested in the 1800s.

Pronunciation

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Adjective

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liberal (comparative more liberal, superlative most liberal)

  1. (now rare outside set phrases) Pertaining to those arts and sciences the study of which is considered to provide general knowledge, as opposed to vocational/occupational, technical or mechanical training.
    He had a full education studying the liberal arts.
    • 1983, David Leslie Wagner, The Seven liberal arts in the Middle Ages:
    • 1997, Gordon D. Morgan, Toward an American Sociology: Questioning the European Construct, →ISBN, page 45:
      Americans remain enamored with Europe's ability to produce the consequential thought for America. It was the same in nearly every liberal field. Education sought its roots in such Europeans as Froebel, Frobenius, and Rousseau. Political science tried to connect to Thomas Hobbes, John Locke, Nietzsche, Machiavelli, and Otto von Bismarck, for instance. Economics copied the thought of Adam Smith, […]
    • 2008, Donal G. Mulcahy, The Educated Person: Toward a New Paradigm for Liberal Education, →ISBN:
  2. Generous; permitting liberty; willing to give unsparingly.
    He was liberal with his compliments.
    • 1899, J. M. Baltimore, “Pacific Coast Light Service”, in Overland Monthly, volume 33:
      Indeed, the Government has been very liberal in the expenditure of public money
    • 2005, John Gardner, Assessment and Learning, →ISBN, page 50:
      When he shows improvement she is liberal with her praise and then moves on to the next set of skills to be learnt.
    • 2007, Helena Page Schrader, The English Templar, →ISBN, page 309:
      Queen Isabella was already being called Santa Isabella by many of her subjects because she was liberal with her alms.
    • 2010, Simon Guillebaud, More Than Conquerors: A Call to Radical Discipleship, →ISBN, page 142:
      Was it because the believers were so liberal with their possessions that God was so liberal with his grace?
    • 2013 June 14, Jonathan Freedland, “Obama's once hip brand is now tainted”, in The Guardian Weekly, volume 189, number 1, page 18:
      Now we are liberal with our innermost secrets, spraying them into the public ether with a generosity our forebears could not have imagined. Where we once sent love letters in a sealed envelope, or stuck photographs of our children in a family album, now such private material is despatched to servers and clouds operated by people we don't know and will never meet.
  3. Ample, abundant; generous in quantity.
    Add a liberal sprinkling of salt.
    • 1896, Ice and refrigeration, volume 11, page 93:
      For this reason a liberal amount of piping should be used. If a liberal supply of piping is provided at first, the first cost will of course be greater, but the extra expenditure is called for but once.
    • 2009, R. Furman Kenney, Chesterville: The Village at the End of the Road, →ISBN, page 102:
      The result was usually that such helpers got a liberal sprinkling of mud over their clothing.
    • 2011, Marlene Perez, Dead Is Not an Option, →ISBN, page 37:
      Rose put a steaming cup of mint tea in front of me and spooned a liberal helping of honey into it.
  4. (obsolete) Unrestrained, licentious.
    • 1598–1599 (first performance), William Shakespeare, “Much Adoe about Nothing”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act IV, scene i]:
      Myself, my brother, and this grieved count,
      Did see her, hear her, at that hour last night,
      Talk with a ruffian at her chamber-window;
      Who hath indeed, most like a liberal villain,
      Confess'd the vile encounters they have had
      A thousand times in secret.
  5. Widely open to new ideas, willing to depart from established opinions or conventions; permissive.
    Her parents had liberal ideas about child-rearing.
  6. (politics) Open to political or social changes and reforms associated with either classical or modern liberalism.
    • 2021, Judith Rainhorn, The Colour of Controversy..., p. 10:
      Endorsing the liberal anti-interventionist credo that the marketplace should act as the "site of verification," the advocates of white lead opposed government intervention for the sake of open economic competition, which they claimed revealed its true value and thus should be the sole determinant: "When the railways were built, the stage coaches disppeared; they died a timely death. If zinc white is truly superior to white lead, it will kill us in the marketplace, but the government should not intervene." These were the words of Expert-Bezançon, in his February 1903 deposition to the parliamentary committee examining the bill for banning lead-based pigments in paint.

Usage notes

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  • Differences between the classical and modern political definitions of the word "liberal" can make some phrases ambiguous. For example, if one says a certain region has "liberal gun laws," this can be interpreted with two opposite meanings.

Antonyms

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  • (antonym(s) of “generous; permitting liberty”): authoritarian
  • (antonym(s) of “widely open to new ideas”): conservative

Hyponyms

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Derived terms

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Translations

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The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables. See instructions at Wiktionary:Entry layout § Translations.
Translations to be checked

Noun

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liberal (plural liberals)

  1. One with liberal views, supporting individual liberty (see Wikipedia's article on Liberalism).
  2. (US politics) Someone with progressive or left-wing views; one with a left-wing ideology.
    • 1966, Phil Ochs (lyrics and music), “Love Me, I'm a Liberal”‎[1]:
      And I love Puerto Ricans and Negros
      As long as they don't move next door.
      So love me, love me, love me, I'm a liberal.
  3. (politics) A supporter of any of several liberal parties.
  4. (UK politics) One who favors individual voting rights, human and civil rights, and laissez-faire markets (also called "classical liberal"; compare libertarian).
  5. (Australian politics) A conservative, especially a liberal conservative.

Coordinate terms

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Derived terms

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Translations

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References

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Further reading

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Anagrams

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Catalan

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Etymology

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Borrowed from Latin līberālis (“befitting a freeman”), from līber (“free”). First attested in the 14th century.[1]

Pronunciation

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Adjective

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liberal m or f (masculine and feminine plural liberals)

  1. generous.
  2. tolerant, permissive.
  3. (job) A job with economic autonomy and intellectual activity, as in liberal professionals
  4. liberal, supporter of economic liberalism.

Derived terms

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References

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  1. ^ “liberal”, in Gran Diccionari de la Llengua Catalana, Grup Enciclopèdia Catalana, 2024

Further reading

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German

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Etymology

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From Latin līberālis (“befitting a freeman”), from līber (“free”).

Pronunciation

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Adjective

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liberal (strong nominative masculine singular liberaler, comparative liberaler, superlative am liberalsten)

  1. liberal; permissive; allowing personal freedoms
    Seine Eltern waren streng katholische Kirchgänger, aber liberal gegenüber ihren Kindern.
    His parents were strict Catholic church-goers, but were liberal towards their children.
  2. (politics) libertarian; liberal in the traditional sense (see usage notes below)
    Die FDP ist die wichtigste liberale Partei in Deutschland.
    The FDP is Germany’s most important libertarian party.

Usage notes

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  • Liberale Parteien (“libertarian/liberal parties”) in German-speaking Europe are associated with support for free-market economy and small government. These parties most often represent the centre or even the centre-right of the political spectrum. The sense “left-wing”, which English liberal now often has, does not exist in the German word. When used of particular policies, German liberal means “permissive, rejecting legal restraints”. Thus, for example, left-wing parties are more likely to be liberal with regard to abortion, while right-wing parties are more likely to be liberal with regard to arms sales.

Declension

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Positive forms of liberal
number & gender singular plural
masculine feminine neuter
predicative er ist liberal sie ist liberal es ist liberal sie sind liberal
strong declension
(without article) 		nominative liberaler liberale liberales liberale
genitive liberalen liberaler liberalen liberaler
dative liberalem liberaler liberalem liberalen
accusative liberalen liberale liberales liberale
weak declension
(with definite article) 		nominative der liberale die liberale das liberale die liberalen
genitive des liberalen der liberalen des liberalen der liberalen
dative dem liberalen der liberalen dem liberalen den liberalen
accusative den liberalen die liberale das liberale die liberalen
mixed declension
(with indefinite article) 		nominative ein liberaler eine liberale ein liberales (keine) liberalen
genitive eines liberalen einer liberalen eines liberalen (keiner) liberalen
dative einem liberalen einer liberalen einem liberalen (keinen) liberalen
accusative einen liberalen eine liberale ein liberales (keine) liberalen
Comparative forms of liberal
number & gender singular plural
masculine feminine neuter
predicative er ist liberaler sie ist liberaler es ist liberaler sie sind liberaler
strong declension
(without article) 		nominative liberalerer liberalere liberaleres liberalere
genitive liberaleren liberalerer liberaleren liberalerer
dative liberalerem liberalerer liberalerem liberaleren
accusative liberaleren liberalere liberaleres liberalere
weak declension
(with definite article) 		nominative der liberalere die liberalere das liberalere die liberaleren
genitive des liberaleren der liberaleren des liberaleren der liberaleren
dative dem liberaleren der liberaleren dem liberaleren den liberaleren
accusative den liberaleren die liberalere das liberalere die liberaleren
mixed declension
(with indefinite article) 		nominative ein liberalerer eine liberalere ein liberaleres (keine) liberaleren
genitive eines liberaleren einer liberaleren eines liberaleren (keiner) liberaleren
dative einem liberaleren einer liberaleren einem liberaleren (keinen) liberaleren
accusative einen liberaleren eine liberalere ein liberaleres (keine) liberaleren
Superlative forms of liberal
number & gender singular plural
masculine feminine neuter
predicative er ist am liberalsten sie ist am liberalsten es ist am liberalsten sie sind am liberalsten
strong declension
(without article) 		nominative liberalster liberalste liberalstes liberalste
genitive liberalsten liberalster liberalsten liberalster
dative liberalstem liberalster liberalstem liberalsten
accusative liberalsten liberalste liberalstes liberalste
weak declension
(with definite article) 		nominative der liberalste die liberalste das liberalste die liberalsten
genitive des liberalsten der liberalsten des liberalsten der liberalsten
dative dem liberalsten der liberalsten dem liberalsten den liberalsten
accusative den liberalsten die liberalste das liberalste die liberalsten
mixed declension
(with indefinite article) 		nominative ein liberalster eine liberalste ein liberalstes (keine) liberalsten
genitive eines liberalsten einer liberalsten eines liberalsten (keiner) liberalsten
dative einem liberalsten einer liberalsten einem liberalsten (keinen) liberalsten
accusative einen liberalsten eine liberalste ein liberalstes (keine) liberalsten

Derived terms

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Further reading

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  • “liberal” in Digitales Wörterbuch der deutschen Sprache
  • “liberal” in Uni Leipzig: Wortschatz-Lexikon

Indonesian

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Etymology

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From Dutch liberaal, from Middle French [Term?] (Modern French libéral), from Old French liberal, from Latin līberālis (“befitting a freeman”), from līber (“free”).

Pronunciation

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  • IPA(key): [libəˈral]
  • Rhymes: -al
  • Hyphenation: li‧bê‧ral

Adjective

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libêral

  1. liberal:
    1. widely open to new ideas, willing to depart from established opinions or conventions; permissive.
    2. open to political or social changes and reforms associated with either classical or modern liberalism.

Derived terms

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Further reading

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Norwegian Bokmål

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Etymology

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From French libéral, from Latin liberalis.

Adjective

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liberal (masculine and feminine liberal, neuter liberalt, definite singular and plural liberale)

  1. liberal

References

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Norwegian Nynorsk

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Norwegian Nynorsk Wikipedia has an article on:
Wikipedia nn

Etymology

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From French libéral, from Latin līberālis.

Adjective

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liberal (neuter liberalt, definite singular and plural liberale)

  1. liberal

References

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Old French

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Etymology

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From Latin līberālis (“befitting a freeman”), from līber (“free”).

Adjective

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liberal m (oblique and nominative feminine singular liberale)

  1. appropriate for a free person
  2. generous; giving

Descendants

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  • → English: liberal
  • French: libéral

Portuguese

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Etymology

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Borrowed from Latin līberālis (“befitting a freeman”), from līber (“free”).

Pronunciation

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  • (Portugal) IPA(key): /li.bɨˈɾal/ [li.βɨˈɾaɫ]
    • (Southern Portugal) IPA(key): /li.bɨˈɾa.li/ [li.βɨˈɾa.li]

  • Rhymes: (Portugal) -al, (Brazil) -aw
  • Hyphenation: li‧be‧ral

Adjective

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liberal m or f (plural liberais)

  1. liberal, generous, tolerant
  2. (politics) liberal

Derived terms

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Noun

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liberal m or f by sense (plural liberais)

  1. (politics) liberal

Usage notes

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In Brazil, the political sense of "liberal" is used to describe supporters of economic freedom, like classical liberals.

Romanian

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Alternative forms

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Etymology

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Borrowed from French libéral, from Latin liberalis. Equivalent to liber +‎ -al.

Pronunciation

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  • IPA(key): /libeˈral/
  • Rhymes: -al
  • Hyphenation: li‧be‧ral

Adjective

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liberal m or n (feminine singular liberală, masculine plural liberali, feminine and neuter plural liberale)

  1. liberal

Declension

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singular plural
masculine neuter feminine masculine neuter feminine
nominative-
accusative 		indefinite liberal liberală liberali liberale
definite liberalul liberala liberalii liberalele
genitive-
dative 		indefinite liberal liberale liberali liberale
definite liberalului liberalei liberalilor liberalelor
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Serbo-Croatian

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Etymology

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From lȉberālan.

Pronunciation

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  • IPA(key): /liběraːl/
  • Hyphenation: li‧be‧ral

Noun

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libèrāl m (Cyrillic spelling либѐра̄л)

  1. liberal

Declension

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Declension of liberal
singular plural
nominative libèrāl liberali
genitive liberála liberala
dative liberalu liberalima
accusative liberala liberale
vocative liberale liberali
locative liberalu liberalima
instrumental liberalom liberalima

References

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  • “liberal”, in Hrvatski jezični portal [Croatian language portal] (in Serbo-Croatian), 2006–2024

Spanish

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Etymology

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From Latin līberālis (“befitting a freeman”), from līber (“free”).

Pronunciation

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  • IPA(key): /libeˈɾal/ [li.β̞eˈɾal]
  • Audio (Colombia):(file)
  • Rhymes: -al
  • Syllabification: li‧be‧ral

Adjective

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liberal m or f (masculine and feminine plural liberales)

  1. liberal (clarification of this definition is needed)
  2. (US politics) liberal
  3. (Argentina, Uruguay) libertarian

Derived terms

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Noun

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liberal m or f by sense (plural liberales)

  1. liberal
  2. (US politics) liberal
  3. (Argentina, Uruguay) libertarian

Usage notes

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  • In Latin America and Spain, the political sense of "liberal" is used to describe supporters of economic freedom, like classical liberals.

Further reading

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Swedish

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Etymology

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From Latin līberālis (“befitting a freeman”), from līber (“free”).

Pronunciation

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Adjective

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liberal (comparative liberalare, superlative liberalast)

  1. liberal

Declension

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Inflection of liberal
Indefinite positive comparative superlative1
common singular liberal liberalare liberalast
neuter singular liberalt liberalare liberalast
plural liberala liberalare liberalast
masculine plural2 liberale liberalare liberalast
Definite positive comparative superlative
masculine singular3 liberale liberalare liberalaste
all liberala liberalare liberalaste

1 The indefinite superlative forms are only used in the predicative.
2 Dated or archaic.
3 Only used, optionally, to refer to things whose natural gender is masculine.

Noun

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liberal c

  1. a liberal

Declension

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Declension of liberal
nominative genitive
singular indefinite liberal liberals
definite liberalen liberalens
plural indefinite liberaler liberalers
definite liberalerna liberalernas
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References

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Tagalog

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Etymology

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Borrowed from Spanish liberal.

Pronunciation

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Adjective

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liberál (Baybayin spelling ᜎᜒᜊᜒᜇᜎ᜔)

  1. liberal

Derived terms

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Turkish

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Etymology

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From French libéral.

Adjective

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liberal

  1. liberal
Retrieved from "https://en.wiktionary.org/w/index.php?title=liberal&oldid=82956618"
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