Merriam-Webster Collegiate Dictionary - free

 I. adjective  (~r; ~st)  Etymology: Middle English, from Old English freo; akin to Old High German fri ~, Welsh rhydd, Sanskrit priya own, dear  Date: before 12th century  1.  a. having the legal and political rights of a citizen  b. enjoying civil and political liberty ~ citizens  c. enjoying political independence or ~dom from outside domination  d. enjoying personal ~dom ; not subject to the control or domination of another  2.  a. not determined by anything beyond its own nature or being ; choosing or capable of choosing for itself  b. determined by the choice of the actor or performer ~ actions  c. made, done, or given voluntarily or spontaneously  3.  a. relieved from or lacking something and especially something unpleasant or burdensome ~ from pain a speech ~ of political rhetoric — often used in combination error-~  b. not bound, confined, or detained by force  4.  a. having no trade restrictions  b. not subject to government regulation  c. of foreign exchange not subject to restriction or official control  5.  a. having no obligations (as to work) or commitments I'll be ~ this evening  b. not taken up with commitments or obligations a ~ evening  6. having a scope not restricted by qualification a ~ variable  7.  a. not obstructed, restricted, or impeded ~ to leave  b. not being used or occupied waved with his ~ hand  c. not hampered or restricted in its normal operation  8.  a. not fastened the ~ end of the rope  b. not confined to a particular position or place in twelve-tone music, no note is wholly ~ for it must hold its place in the series — J. L. Stewart  c. capable of moving or turning in any direction a ~ particle  d. performed without apparatus ~ tumbling  e. done with artificial aids (as pitons) used only for protection against falling and not for support a ~ climb  9.  a. not parsimonious ~ spending  b. outspoken  c. availing oneself of something without stint  d. frank, open  e. overly familiar or forward in action or attitude  f. licentious  10. not costing or charging anything  11.  a.  (1) not united with, attached to, combined with, or mixed with something else ; separate ~ ores a ~ surface of a bodily part  (2) ~standing a ~ column  b. chemically uncombined ~ oxygen ~ acids  c. not permanently attached but able to move about a ~ electron in a metal  d. capable of being used alone as a meaningful linguistic form the word hats is a ~ form — compare bound V,7  12.  a. not literal or exact ~ translation  b. not restricted by or conforming to conventional forms ~ skating  13. favorable — used of a wind blowing from a direction more than six points from dead ahead  14. not allowing slavery  15. open to all comers  • ~ness noun Synonyms:  ~, independent, sovereign, autonomous mean not subject to the rule or control of another. ~ stresses the complete absence of external rule and the full right to make all of one's own decisions you're ~ to do as you like. independent implies a standing alone; applied to a state it implies lack of connection with any other having power to interfere with its citizens, laws, or policies the colony's struggle to become independent. sovereign stresses the absence of a superior power and implies supremacy within a thing's own domain or sphere separate and sovereign armed services. autonomous stresses independence in matters pertaining to self-government in this denomination each congregation is regarded as autonomous.  II. transitive verb  (~d; ~ing)  Date: before 12th century  1.  a. to cause to be ~  b. to relieve or rid of what restrains, confines, restricts, or embarrasses ~ a person from debt — often used with up ~ up space on the hard drive  c. disentangle, clear  2. obsolete banish  • ~r noun Synonyms:  ~, release, liberate, emancipate, manumit mean to set loose from restraint or constraint. ~ implies a usUALLY PERMANENT REMOVAL FROM WHATEVER BINDS, CONFINES, ENTANGLES, OR OPPRESSES ~d the animals from their cages. release suggests a setting loose from confinement, restraint, or a state of pressure or tension, often without implication of permanent liberation released his anger on a punching bag. liberate stresses particularly the resulting state of liberty liberated their country from the tyrant. emancipate implies the liberation of a person from subjection or domination labor-saving devices emancipated us from household drudgery. manumit implies emancipation from slavery the document manumitted the slaves.  III. adverb  Date: 1559  1. in a ~ manner  2. without charge  3. with the wind more than six points from dead ahead sailing ~