Words / B2

lib-uh-RAYSHUN/ˌlɪbəˈreɪʃn/

Liberation is the act of setting a person, group, or place free: the town’s liberation; liberation from poverty. Freedom is the state; independence is political self-rule. Date the liberation, not the armistice. Mix-up: liberal is a political adjective (already in the dictionary); liberty is the right (already elsewhere). Do not call a teacher-free lesson liberation in a history essay.

Meaning

The act of setting someone or a place free from control.

Examples

• “The history paper dates the town’s liberation, not the armistice.”
• “Liberation from exam stress featured in the assembly, which is the metaphor sense.”

Good to know

the liberation of + place; liberation from. State: freedom. Trap: liberal / liberty. History and politics. Being freed, not a party label.

Near in meaning

freedom

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