English

Adjective

illiberal ‎(comparative more illiberal, superlative most illiberal)

1. Restrictive to individual choice and freedom.
   • 2004 December 15, Emanuele Ottolenghi, “Illiberal Europe”, in The Jerusalem Post, ISSN 0021-597X:

     Behind Europe's commitment to liberal democracy lurks an illiberal tradition. Every time freedom has failed in Europe, it is to that tradition - of violent repression, totalitarianism, xenophobia, and intolerance - that Europeans have reverted.

   • 2005 February 20, “The Risks in Personal Accounts”, in The Washington Post, ISSN 0190-8286, page B06:

     Unless the administration compels all workers to invest in life cycle accounts — an illiberal but nonetheless sensible idea — this particular danger cannot be eliminated.

2. narrow-minded; bigoted
   • 1781, William Robertson, The history of Scotland during the reigns of Queen Mary and of King James IV, volume II, page 141:

     Accordingly, that form of Popery, which prevailed in Scotland, was of the moſt bigotted and illiberal kind.

   • 1894, John Marshall Barker, “The Planting of Colleges in the New World”, in Colleges in America, page 29:

     While they maintained a denominational character, they were in nowise illiberal, and set up no religious test for entrance.

3. ungenerous, stingy
   • 1901, Justin McCarthy, Justin Huntly McCarthy, A History of the Four Georges and of William IV, volume IV:

     ...the final offer made on the part of the King was that the Queen should have an allowance of 52,000 pounds a year— not, one would have thought, a very illiberal allowance for the daughter of a small German prince...

   • 1917, Bertrand Russell, “Chapter II: Capitalism and the Wage System”, in Political Ideals:

     The few who are more fortunate are rendered illiberal by their unjust privileges, and oppressive through fear of the awakening indignation of the masses. From the highest to the lowest, almost all men are absorbed in the economic struggle: the struggle to acquire what is their due or to retain what is not their due.

Related terms

• illiberally
• illiberalism

Synonyms

• (all meanings): antiliberal
• (restrictive to individual choice and freedom): oppressive, authoritarian

Antonyms

• (restrictive to individual choice and freedom): liberal
• (narrow-minded): generous, broad-minded

Translations

German

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈɪlibeʀaːl/, /ɪlibeˈʀaːl/
• Rhymes: -aːl

Adjective

illiberal ‎(comparative illiberaler, superlative am illiberalsten)

1. illiberal

Declension