liberate

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lib·er·ate / ˈlibəˌrāt/ • v. [tr.] (often be liberated) set (someone) free from a situation, esp. imprisonment or slavery, in which their liberty is severely restricted: the serfs had been liberated. ∎  free (a country, city, or people) from enemy occupation: twelve months earlier Paris had been liberated. ∎  release (someone) from a state or situation that limits freedom of thought or behavior: the use of computers can liberate students from the constraints of disabilities [as adj.] (liberating) the arts can have a liberating effect on people. ∎  free (someone) from rigid social conventions, esp. those concerned with accepted sexual roles: ways of working politically that liberate women. ∎ inf. steal (something): the drummer's wearing a beret he's liberated from Lord knows where. ∎  Chem. & Physics release (gas, energy, etc.) as a result of chemical reaction or physical decomposition: energy liberated by the annihilation of matter.DERIVATIVES: lib·er·a·tion / ˌlibəˈrāshən/ n. lib·er·a·tion·ist / ˌlibəˈrāshənist/ n.lib·er·a·tor / -ˌrātər/ n.

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