List of 426 Sets of Synonyms - How they Differ - Total of 2307 Words - 174

SYNONYMS: freedom, liberty, license.
These nouns refer to the power to act, speak, or think without externally imposed restraints.

Freedom is the most general term: In giving freedom to the slave, we assure freedom to the free. The freedom of the press is one of the great bulwarks of liberty.
Liberty is often used interchangeably with freedom; often, however, it especially stresses the power of free choice: liberty of opinion; liberty of worship; at liberty to choose whatever occupation she wishes.
License sometimes denotes deliberate deviation from normally applicable rules or practices to achieve a desired effect, as in literature or art: poetic license. Frequently, though, it denotes undue freedom: The intolerable license with which the newspapers break the rules of decorum.