Definitions

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.

  • intransitive verb To make liberal or more liberal.
  • intransitive verb To become liberal or more liberal.

from The Century Dictionary.

  • To render liberal; enlarge the freedom or scope of; free from narrowness or prejudice: as, to liberalize the institutions of a country.
  • To become liberal.
  • Also spelled liberalise.

from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.

  • transitive verb To make liberal; to free from narrow views or prejudices; to make less strict.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

  • verb transitive to make liberal, free.
  • verb intransitive to become liberal, free.

from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.

  • verb make liberal or more liberal, of laws and rules
  • verb become more liberal

Etymologies

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Examples

  • The failure to liberalize is certainly expensive: estimates of the worldwide losses stemming from trade barriers vary, but over time the cost will surely run into the trillions of dollars.

    The Fruitful Lie 2006

  • The failure to liberalize is certainly expensive: estimates of the worldwide losses stemming from trade barriers vary, but over time the cost will surely run into the trillions of dollars.

    The Fruitful Lie 2006

  • The sentence, which initially said that all members present had agreed to liberalize the telecommunications market to competition, was moved a paragraph up and slightly altered-. minus the word liberalize-to ultimately convey the same message and appease the two labor representatives at the meeting.

    ANC Daily News Briefing 2001

  • You would kiss health care for all good-bye, because the lords of high finance would say: you must pay off this debt first, and the only way is to "liberalize" - your markets.

    Shock and awe economy 2008

  • In the span of four years, Google has tested, and for the moment shockingly rejected, a thesis that an entire community of corporations and nations has relied on in part to justify doing business with China for decades: that engagement will "liberalize" China, and that the citizens of an increasingly prosperous and globally integrated China will one day rise up and slip loose the bonds of tyranny.

    Forbes.com: News 2010

  • Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's security cabinet voted to "liberalize" the procedures under which Israel has allowed goods into Gaza for the past four years.

    Antiwar.com Original Jerrold Kessel 2010

  • The ministers decided after their marathon talks on Wednesday and Thursday to "liberalize"

    San Francisco Sentinel 2010

  • Al Ahram, one gets the impression that, by trying to make divorce and remarriage easier for Copts, the Egyptian government is attempting to "liberalize" Coptic society - only to be challenged by an antiquated pope not open to "reform."

    Pajamas Media 2010

  • Etheridge explains that "the Arab Gulf states adopt the lingo and mechanisms of the West-they 'liberalize', they 'privatize'.

    KUWAIT INC., GULF ARAB INC., AMERICA INC. & China and Other Incs. 2007

  • Etheridge explains that "the Arab Gulf states adopt the lingo and mechanisms of the West-they 'liberalize', they 'privatize'.

    KUWAIT INC., GULF ARAB INC., AMERICA INC. & China and Other Incs. 2007

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