liberally
adverb
Simple meaning
Freely in a nonliteral way.
Pronunciation
Say it like this:
liberuhleeSay the bold part a little louder.
IPA pronunciation (US)
ˈlɪbɚəli
This word is pronounced essentially the same in American and British English, so one transcription covers both.
IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) is a standard way of writing speech sounds.
Definition
Everyday modern meanings first, grouped by part of speech.
adverb
In a liberal manner; generously; freely.
“He gave liberally to several charities.”
Freely in a nonliteral manner
In accordance with political views associated with the liberals.
Word at a Glance
- Difficulty
- C2 · Proficient
- Frequency
- Uncommon
Word Aura™
How this word commonly comes across.
Aura for this meaning
This meaning: In a liberal manner; generously; freely.
Used this way, liberally is a common word with a clearly warm, approving pull. It carries warmth, so it reads as personal rather than detached.
“He gave liberally to several charities.”
- Emotional tone
- Positive
- Formality
- Neutral
- Intensity
- Gentle
- How common
- Common
- Connotation
- Generous and giving
- Usage feel
- Warm and expressive
Usage note
It most often appears in the pattern “liberally to …”, which is worth copying when you use it.
Natural pattern: liberally to …
Word Aura describes common impressions, not a measurement. Tone changes with sentence, speaker, relationship and situation.
More ways to use liberally
- “He gave liberally to several charities.”adverb
- “He embellished his stories liberally.”adverb
Share your sentence
Common Patterns and Combinations
How this word naturally appears with others.
Word Family
Related forms, grouped by how they connect.
Inflected forms
Grammatical variations of the same word.
A person who favors a political philosophy of progress and reform and the protection of civil liberties.
Word family
Words built from the same root.
A political orientation that favors social progress by reform and by changing laws rather than by revolution.
Use This Word
See how this word sounds in a real sentence.
Ask Vocabaura
Understand the word your way.
What Does It Mean Here?
Words can change meaning depending on context.
Use it yourself
Keep learning “liberally” by choosing the kind of practice you need next.
- Practice sentence writingWrite sentences with vocabulary and get instant feedback.
- Practice in contextAnswer short vocabulary questions drawn from real situations.
- Review vocabularyTest your recall and strengthen words over time.
- Practice typingType vocabulary from meanings, examples and other prompts.
Dictionary data from Wiktionary via the Free Dictionary API. Simple meanings, combinations and word intelligence are built from verified reference data, no AI is used to load this page.