LIBERTY.
Synonyms:
| emancipation, | freedom, | independence, | license. |
In general terms, it may be said that freedom is absolute, liberty relative; freedom is the absence of restraint, liberty is primarily the removal or avoidance of restraint; in its broadest sense, it is the state of being exempt from the domination of others[231] or from restricting circumstances. Freedom and liberty are constantly interchanged; the slave is set at liberty, or gains his freedom; but freedom is the nobler word. Independence is said of states or nations, freedom and liberty of individuals; the independence of the United States did not secure liberty or freedom to its slaves. Liberty keeps quite strictly to the thought of being clear of restraint or compulsion; freedom takes a wider range, applying to other oppressive influences; thus, we speak of freedom from annoyance or intrusion. License is, in its limited sense, a permission or privilege granted by adequate authority, a bounded liberty; in the wider sense, license is an ignoring and defiance of all that should restrain, and a reckless doing of all that individual caprice or passion may choose to do—a base and dangerous counterfeit of freedom. Compare [ALLOW]; [PERMISSION].
Antonyms:
| captivity, | imprisonment, | oppression, | slavery, |
| compulsion, | necessity, | serfdom, | superstition, |
| constraint, | obligation, | servitude, | thraldom. |
LIGHT.
Synonyms:
| blaze, | gleam, | glow, | shimmer, |
| flame, | gleaming, | illumination, | shine, |
| flare, | glimmer, | incandescence, | shining, |
| flash, | glistening, | luster, | sparkle, |
| flicker, | glistering, | scintillation, | twinkle, |
| glare, | glitter, | sheen, | twinkling. |