illiberal
illiberal Lexical Profile
illiberal Game Scores & Validity
• adjective
Opposed to liberal principles; restricting freedom of thought, personal liberty, or democratic institutions; intolerant or narrow-minded.
"Critics warned that the proposed censorship laws were deeply illiberal and threatened freedom of the press."
Not generous with money or resources; stingy or parsimonious.
"Despite his vast inherited fortune, the landlord remained famously illiberal toward local charities."
Lacking broad cultural refinement or humanistic education; coarse or uncultured.
"Eighteenth-century essayists often dismissed purely mechanical trades as illiberal pursuits."
Word Nuance & Usage
In modern political science, 'illiberal' specifically describes systems—such as an 'illiberal democracy'—that hold elections while restricting civil liberties, judicial independence, and a free press, rather than simply serving as the opposite of politically progressive.
• Rhymes for illiberal
• Nearby Words
Word Origin & Etymology
Borrowed in the 16th century from Middle French illibéral and directly from Latin illiberalis, meaning 'unworthy of a freeman, ungenerous, or mean', formed from the privative prefix in- ('not') and liberalis ('pertaining to a free person').