Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary
free (adjective)1.
a) having the legal and political rights of a citizen
b) enjoying civil and political liberty - free citizens
c) enjoying political independence or from outside domination - freedom
d) enjoying personal freedom 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 - free actions
c) made, done, or given voluntarily or spontaneously
3.
a) relieved from or lacking something and especially something unpleasant or burdensome - free from pain a speech free of political rhetoric often used in combination error-free
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 free this evening
b) not taken up with commitments or obligations - a free evening
6.
having a scope not restricted by qualification - a free variable
7.
a) not obstructed, restricted, or impeded - free to leave
b) not being used or occupied - waved with his free hand
c) not hampered or restricted in its normal operation
8.
a) not fastened - the free end of the rope
b) not confined to a particular position or place - in twelve-tone music, no note is wholly free for it must hold its place in the series J. L. Stewart
c) capable of moving or turning in any direction - a free particle
d) performed without apparatus - free tumbling
e) done with artificial aids (as pitons) used only for protection against falling and not for support - a free climb
9.
a) not parsimonious - free 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 free ores a free surface of a bodily part
(2) - freestanding a free column
b) chemically uncombined - free oxygen free acids
c) not permanently attached but able to move about - a free electron in a metal
d) capable of being used alone as a meaningful linguistic form - the word hats is a free form compare bound 7
12.
a) not literal or exact - free translation
b) not restricted by or conforming to conventional forms - free 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
transitive verb
1.
a) to cause to be free
b) to relieve or rid of what restrains, confines, restricts, or embarrasses - free a person from debt often used with up free up space on the hard drive
c) - disentangle clear
2.
obsolete - banish
1.
in a free manner
2.
without charge
3.
with the wind more than six points from dead ahead - sailing free
Merriam-Webster Online Thesaurus
free (adjective)1.
not being under the rule or control of another
SYNONIMS:
autonomous, freestanding, independent, self-governed, self-governing, self-ruling, separate, sovereign ( sovran)RELATED WORDS:
freeborn; delivered, emancipated, freed, liberated, manumitted, redeemed, released; unconquered, unruled, unsupervised; empowered, enfranchised; democratic, republicanNEAR ANTONYMS:
bound, captive, conquered, enslaved, fettered, subdued, subjugated; inferior, subordinate, subservient2.
no longer burdened with something unpleasant or painful
SYNONIMS:
disencumbered, quit, shut (of), unburdenedRELATED WORDS:
delivered, freed, liberated, released; unhampered, unimpededNEAR ANTONYMS:
encumbered, handicapped, hindered, hobbled3.
not bound, confined, or detained by force
SYNONIMS:
footloose, loose, unbound, unconfined, unrestrainedRELATED WORDS:
escaped; uncaged, unchained, unfettered, unleashed; uncaught; unanchored, unbolted, undone, unfastened, untied; clear, disengagedNEAR ANTONYMS:
caught; caged, chained, enclosed ( inclosed), immured, imprisoned, leashed, penned; anchored, bolted, fastened, fettered, manacled, shackled, tied; kidnapped ( kidnaped)4.
not costing or charging anything
SYNONIMS:
complimentary, costless, gratis, gratuitousRELATED WORDS:
nominal; bestowed, donated, given; pro bono; discretionary, freewill, optional, voluntary; honorary, uncompensated, unpaidNEAR ANTONYMS:
paid; costly, dear, expensive, high5.
allowing passage without obstruction
SYNONIMS:
clear, cleared, free, unclogged, unclosed, unobstructed, unstoppedRELATED WORDS:
enterable, navigable, passable; emptied, empty, unoccupied, vacant; exposed, revealed; gaping, wide, yawning; unbarred, unbolted, unclasped, unfastened, unlatched, unlocked, unsealed; unbuttoned, unclenched, unfolded, unfurled, unzippedNEAR ANTONYMS:
impassable ( impassible); constricted, cramped, encumbered, hampered, hindered, impeded, interfered (with), trammeled ( trammelled); barricaded, blockaded, dammed, gated6.
giving or sharing in abundance and without hesitation
SYNONIMS:
bighearted, bounteous, bountiful, charitable, free, freehanded, freehearted, fulsome, liberal, munificent, open, openhanded, unselfish, unsparing, unstintingRELATED WORDS:
extravagant, handsome, lavish, overgenerous, profuse; altruistic, beneficent, benevolent, hospitable, humanitarian, philanthropic ( philanthropical); big, greathearted, largehearted, magnanimous, openhearted; compassionate, good-hearted, kind, kindly, samaritan, sympatheticNEAR ANTONYMS:
mean, petty, small; frugal, spare, sparing, thrifty; chary, stinting; acquisitive, avaricious, avid, coveting, covetous, desirous, grasping, hoggish, itchy, mercenary, rapacious; begrudging, envious, grudging, resentful7.
not being in a state of use, activity, or employment
SYNONIMS:
dead, dormant, fallow, free, idle, inert, inoperative, latent, off, unused, vacantRELATED WORDS:
abeyant, arrested, interrupted, suspended; unoccupied; asleep, comatose, lifeless, moribund, quiescent, sleepy; inoperable, unusable, unworkable, useless; dull, slowNEAR ANTONYMS:
functional, operable, operational, workable; assiduous, industrious, sedulous; energetic, vigorous; feasible, practical, usable ( useable), useful, viable8.
showing a lack of proper social reserve or modesty
SYNONIMS:
bold, familiar, forward, free, immodest, overfamiliar, presumingRELATED WORDS:
arrogant, bumptious, complacent, conceited, egoistic ( egoistical), egomaniacal, egotistic ( egotistical), highfalutin ( hifalutin), high-and-mighty, high-hat, hoity-toity, important, overweening, pompous, prideful, proud, self-asserting, self-assertive, self-complacent, self-conceited, self-important, self-satisfied, smug, uppity, vain, vainglorious; cavalier, disdainful, haughty, lordly, pretentious, snobbish, stuck-up, supercilious, superior; audacious, bold-faced, brash, brassbound, brassy, brazen, cheeky, cocky, fresh, impertinent, impudent, insolent, overbold, pert, sassy, saucy; confident, self-assured, self-confident, sure; boastful, braggart, bragging; domineering, high-handed, imperious; self-absorbed, self-centered, self-concerned, self-engrossed, self-infatuated, self-interested, self-involved, selfish, self-obsessed, self-seekingNEAR ANTONYMS:
demure, down-to-earth, humble, lowly, meek, unassertive, unpretentious; bashful, mousy ( mousey), retiring, shy, timid, timorous; diffident, self-doubting9.
not physically attached to another unit
SYNONIMS:
detached, disconnected, discrete, free, freestanding, single, unattached, unconnectedRELATED WORDS:
independent, self-contained; individual, privateNEAR ANTONYMS:
adjoining1.
to set free (as from slavery or confinement)
SYNONIMS:
discharge, disenthrall ( disenthral), emancipate, enfranchise, enlarge, liberate, loose, loosen, manumit, release, spring, unbind, uncage, unchain, unfetterRELATED WORDS:
bail (out), deliver, parole, ransom, redeem, rescue, save; adrift, disembarrass, disencumber, disengage, disentangle, extricate; unshackleNEAR ANTONYMS:
handcuff, manacle, shackle, trammel; commit, immure, imprison, incarcerate, intern, jail, lock (up); conquer, enslave, subdue, subjugate2.
to make passage through (something) possible by removing obstructions
SYNONIMS:
clear, free, unclog, unplug, unstopRELATED WORDS:
ease, facilitate, loosen (up), smoothNEAR ANTONYMS:
constrict, encumber, hamper, hinder, impede, interfere (with), obstruct, trammel; barricade, blockade3.
to rid the surface of (as an area) from things in the way
SYNONIMS:
free, open, unblockRELATED WORDS:
ease, facilitate, loosen (up), smooth, unchoke, unclog, unplug, unstop; unclutter; stripNEAR ANTONYMS:
clog, close, dam, obstruct, plug, stop; clutter (up)4.
to set (a person or thing) free of something that encumbers
SYNONIMS:
clear, disburden, disencumber, divest, free, relieve, unburdenRELATED WORDS:
discharge, emancipate, enfranchise, liberate, loose, loosen, manumit, release, spring, unbind, uncage, unchain, unfetter; bail (out), deliver, redeem, rescue; disengage, disentangle, extricateNEAR ANTONYMS:
bog (down), fetter, hamper, restrain, shackle, subject, weigh down, weight (down)5.
to set free from entanglement or difficulty
SYNONIMS:
clear, disembarrass, disengage, disentangle, free, liberate, release, untangleRELATED WORDS:
deliver, redeem, rescue, save; disburden, disencumber, unburden; unravel, unsnarl, untie, untwineNEAR ANTONYMS:
block, hamper, hinder, impede, obstruct; burden, encumber, load, weigh