liberal

/ˈli-b(ə-)rəl/

Middle English, from Anglo-French, from Latin liberalis suitable for a freeman, generous, from liber free; perhaps akin to Old English lēodan to grow, Greek eleutheros free

adjective

  1. inclined to be open to ideas and ways of behaving that are not conventional or traditional : broad-minded, tolerant

  2. of, relating to, or favoring a philosophy of liberalism, especially political liberalism and often also social liberalism

  3. of or constituting a political party advocating or associated with the principles of political liberalism

My father is more liberal and loving than twenty fathers combined.

a liberal newspaper columnist

liberal generous bountiful munificent mean giving or given freely and unstintingly. liberal suggests openhandedness in the giver and largeness in the thing or amount given. generous stresses warmhearted readiness to give more than size or importance of the gift.

noun

  1. a person who is liberal : such, as

  2. an adherent or advocate of liberalism and especially political liberalism

  3. a member or supporter of a Liberal political party

… the causes liberals have championed—racial and gender equality, workers' rights, equal opportunity, and so on …

plural noun

  1. college or university studies (such as language, philosophy, literature, and abstract science) intended to provide chiefly general knowledge and to develop general intellectual capacities (such as reason and judgment) as opposed to professional or vocational skills

  2. the medieval studies comprising the trivium and quadrivium