liberality

L1I1B3E1R1A1L1I1T1Y4
/ˌlɪbəˈɹælɪti/

noun

The property of being liberal; generosity; charity.

“A prudent man is not impoverished by his liberalities.”

Similar
largesseliberalness
Opposite
illiberality
OriginMiddle English liberalite ← Old French liberalité ← Latin līberālitās →
UncommonScrabble 15
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Word of the Day · Aug 27, 2023

Meanings

nounliberality (usually uncountable, plural liberalities)

plural liberalities

  1. uncountableusuallyThe property of being liberal; generosity; charity.

    That liberality is but cast away / Which makes us borrow what we cannot pay.

    1668, John Denham, Of Justice (poem)
    2 more examples

    '[…] Mrs. Ferrars, with the utmost liberality, will come forward, and settle on him a thousand a-year, if the match takes place. […]'

    1811, [Jane Austen], chapter XI, in Sense and Sensibility […], volume II, London: […] C[harles] Roworth, […], and published by T[homas] Egerton, […], →OCLC

    She preferred that Lord Rotheles's liberality should take a purely personal direction. Whatever decorations might be lavished upon her dressing-room, the dowager would have to leave them behind her; not so those which filled the prodigality of red morocco cases on her toilette.

    1838 (date written), L[etitia] E[lizabeth] L[andon], chapter II, in Lady Anne Granard; or, Keeping up Appearances. […], volume I, London: Henry Colburn, […], published 1842, →OCLC, page 20

    Synonyms: largesse

  2. uncountableusuallyA gift; a gratuity.

    A prudent man is not impoverished by his liberalities.

  3. uncountableusuallyCandor.
  4. uncountableusuallyImpartiality.

Synonyms & antonyms

nounThe property of being liberal; generosity; charity.

Similar
largesse

More synonyms by meaning

nounan inclination to favor progress and individual freedom

Similar
liberalness
Broader
tolerance

nounthe trait of being generous in behavior and temperament

Similar
liberalness
Opposite
illiberality
Broader
generositygenerousness
Also see
bountygenerosityliberalness

Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.

Origin

  1. Latinlīberālitās“a noble, kind, or friendly disposition; generosity”
  2. Old Frenchliberalité
  3. Middle Englishliberalite
  4. Englishliberality

From Middle English liberalite, from Old French liberalité, from Latin līberālitās (“a noble, kind, or friendly disposition; generosity”), equivalent to liberal + -ity.

More words from Middle English, Old French, Latin

Full word history & related roots →
Cite this entry
APA

liberality. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/liberality

MLA

“liberality.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/liberality. Accessed November 3, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “liberality,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/liberality.

Source: liberality on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.