liberation
- 01 B2 Upper Intermediate
the act of setting a person or a place free from imprisonment or enemy control.
the act of setting someone free from imprisonment, slavery, or oppression; the release of a country from occupation.
Simple“The liberation of the city was celebrated with a huge parade in the streets.”
In context“Following years of brutal occupation, the liberation of the capital marked a definitive turning point in the regional conflict.”
SynonymsAntonyms - 02 B2 Upper Intermediate
the movement to get equal rights and freedom for a specific group of people.
the achievement of equal social rights and status, specifically freedom from historical or structural prejudice.
Simple“The women's liberation movement changed how people thought about work and home.”
In context“The seminar focused on the history of various liberation movements and their impact on contemporary civil rights legislation.”
Antonyms - 03 C1 Advanced
a funny or polite way to say you took something that does not belong to you.
a euphemistic or ironic reference to the act of taking or stealing something.
Simple“I noticed the 'liberation' of a few pens from the office supply cabinet.”
In context“He jokingly referred to the 'liberation' of his roommate's leftover pizza as a necessary intervention for the sake of fridge space.”
Teacher's tipThis sense is purely ironic; using it in a serious context will make you sound like you are admitting to a crime while trying to hide it.
Synonyms
“The announcement caught South Korean officials off guard, landing on a public holiday marking the country’s liberation from Japanese colonial rule, and set off a scramble in Seoul and Washington, DC.”
“Tupac's mother Afeni was a Black Panther and he grew up around the black liberation movement.”
Borrowed from Middle French libération, and from Latin liberatio, liberationem (“a freeing”), from liberare past participle liberatus (“set free”); see liberate. Equivalent to liberate + -ion.
Etymology adapted from Wiktionary, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.