liberty

Liberty

I

Liberty
an independent British organization which aims to defend and increase the rights of ordinary citizens. Before it changed its name in 1988, Liberty was called the National Council for Civil Liberties.

II

Lib‧er‧ty's /ˈlɪbətiz $ -ər-/ (also Liberty) trademark
a famous department store in central London which sells clothes and things for the home, but is best known for its beautiful and expensive cloth, which is often specially designed and which can be used for making curtains, covering chairs etc. Many Liberty goods come from India, China, and East Asia. Several other cities in the UK have a Liberty's:
    a Liberty fabric/pattern/scarf

liberty
lib‧er‧ty /ˈlɪbəti $ -ər-/ noun (plural liberties)1.  FREEDOM  [uncountable] the freedom and the right to do whatever you want without asking permission or being afraid of authority:
    the fight for liberty and equality
    individual/personal liberty
    threats to individual liberty
    religious/political/economic liberty
    struggles for political liberty
2.  LEGAL RIGHT  [countable usually plural] a particular legal right:
    liberties such as freedom of speech ⇨ civil liberty
3.  WITHOUT PERMISSION  [singular] something you do without asking permission, especially which may offend or upset someone else
    take the liberty of doing something
    I took the liberty of cancelling your reservation.
4. be at liberty to do something formal to have the right or permission to do something:
    I am not at liberty to discuss these matters.
5. take liberties with somebody/something
  a. to make unreasonable changes in something such as a piece of writing:
    The film-makers took too many liberties with the original novel.
  b. old-fashioned to treat someone without respect by being too friendly too quickly, especially in a sexual way:
    He’s been taking liberties with our female staff.
6. at liberty formal if a prisoner or an animal is at liberty, they are no longer in prison or enclosed in a small place
   SYN  free
     

COLLOCATIONS

■ adjectives
   ▪ individual/personal liberty Any law that increases police power may be seen as a threat to individual liberty.
   ▪ religious liberty The American Constitution protects religious liberty.
   ▪ political liberty The party has a tradition of fighting for increased political liberty.
   ▪ economic liberty The country is slowly moving towards democracy and economic liberty.
■ verbs
   ▪ protect somebody's liberty The right to vote is one of the most powerful means we have to protect our liberty.
   ▪ deprive somebody of their liberty (=take liberty away from someone) a prisoner who has been deprived of his liberty
   ▪ infringe on/restrict somebody's liberty (=limit someone's liberty) Will the new security measures infringe on our liberty?
   ▪ threaten somebody's liberty The government should not be so strong that it threatens individual liberty.