freedom has a broad range of application from total absence of restraint to merely a sense of not being unduly hampered or frustrated.
freedom of the press
liberty suggests release from former restraint or compulsion.
the released prisoner had difficulty adjusting to his new liberty
license implies freedom specially granted or conceded and may connote an abuse of freedom.
freedom without responsibility may degenerate into license
Example Sentences
a nation that values liberty and democracy soldiers willing to die in defense of liberty They gave him the liberty to handle the problem himself. hard-won liberties such as freedom of the press
Recent Examples on the WebWhile much journalism on Covid-19 continues to tell the story of the pandemic the way Chris Cuomo did at the outset—as a struggle between safety and personal liberty—Thrasher offers a different approach. Melissa Gira Grant, The New Republic, 6 Sep. 2022 Some 62% of Chileans who voted in a national referendum on Sunday rejected a new constitution that would have empowered the left to restrict property rights and individual liberty. The Editorial Board, WSJ, 5 Sep. 2022 Ocasio-Cortez quote-tweeted a clip of remarks Alito made at a conference on religious liberty in Rome. Ella Lee, USA TODAY, 29 July 2022 More important was his role in founding the United States, an act that did more for liberty and human flourishing than any other single political act in human history so far. The Editors, National Review, 26 Aug. 2022 Making freedom the core value, as many American conservatives once did, erases the line between liberty and license. William A. Galston, WSJ, 23 Aug. 2022 Whereas many artists enjoy working face-to-face, there was a different kind of creative liberty to be gained through this method. Grant Sharples, SPIN, 17 Aug. 2022 Enlightenment philosophies spawned revolutions and gave rise to fundamental Western values like democracy and individual liberty. Brigit Katz, Smithsonian Magazine, 11 Aug. 2022 Susan Osborne, who is also a Catholic grandmother, has been urging neighbors to vote against the measure, calling it an infringement on constitutional liberty. Sarah Herndon, ABC News, 1 Aug. 2022 See More
Word History
Etymology
Middle English, from Anglo-French liberté, from Latin libertat-, libertas, from liber free — more at liberal