adjective freer, freest
- not under the control of some other person or some arbitrary power; able to act or think without compulsion or arbitrary restriction; having liberty; independent
- characterized by or resulting from liberty
- having, or existing under, a government that does not impose arbitrary restrictions on the right to speak, assemble, petition, vote, etc.; having civil and political liberty: a free people
- not under control of a foreign government
- able to move in any direction; not held, as in chains, etc.; not kept from motion; loose
- not held or confined by a court, the police, etc.; acquitted
- not held or burdened by obligations, debts, discomforts, etc.; unhindered; unhampered: free from pain
- at liberty; allowed: free to leave at any time
- not confined to the usual rules or patterns; not limited by convention or tradition: free verse
- not literal; not exact: a free translation
- not held or confined by prejudice or bias
- not restricted by anything except its own limitations or nature: free will
- not busy or not in use; available for other work, use, etc.
- readily done or made; spontaneous: a free offer
- not constrained or stilted; easy and graceful: a free gait
- generous; liberal; lavish: a free spender
- profuse; copious
- frank; straightforward
- too frank or familiar in speech, action, etc.; forward; indecorous
- with no charge or cost; gratis: a free ticket
- not liable to (trade restrictions, etc.); exempt from certain impositions, as taxes or duties
- clear of obstructions; open and unimpeded: a free road ahead
- open to all; esp., without restrictions as to trade: a free market, free port
- not in contact or connection; not fastened: the free end of a rope
- not united; not combined: free oxygen
- not opposed; favorable: said of a wind blowing from a direction more than six points from straight ahead
- Games additional; extra: a free turn
- Jazz designating or of improvisation unrestricted by set harmonic structure, rhythmic patterns, tempo, etc.
- Linguis. designating a minimum form, or morpheme, that may occur alone as an independent word: in “boys,” boy is a free form, but -s is not
Origin:
ME fre < OE freo, not in bondage, noble, glad, illustrious, akin to Ger frei, Du vrij < IE base *prei-, to be fond of, hold dear > friend, Sans priyá-, dear, desired
transitive verb freed, freeing
to make free; specif.,
- to release from bondage or arbitrary power, authority, obligation, etc.
- to clear of obstruction, entanglement, etc.; disengage