1
as in parochial
not broad or open in views or opinions
an illiberal society that viewed any artistic depiction of the nude as inherently indecent
Synonyms & Similar Words
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in narrow
unwilling to grant other people social rights or to accept other viewpoints
some of the more illiberal residents were opposed to having a hospice for AIDS patients in the neighborhood
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
3
as in vulgar
archaic
lacking in refinement or good taste
people who had been scorned as illiberal because they were poor
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of illiberal
In recent years, candidates running for office in France, Germany, and Spain have successfully used the rhetoric of protecting democracy to push back against illiberal or antidemocratic political movements.
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Omar G. Encarnación, Foreign Affairs, 16 Jan. 2025
Tom Nichols: Stalin’s revenge From a liberal point of view, comparing the anti-Soviet revolutions of 1989 with the illiberal revolutions today might seem scandalous.
—Ivan Krastev, The Atlantic, 3 Jan. 2025
If the United States flouts the rules, authoritarians and other illiberal leaders need no further excuse to break them at will, inflicting horror on their own people and inciting instability beyond their borders.
—Sarah Yager, Foreign Affairs, 14 Jan. 2025
Democracy is in recession in all quarters of the globe, including in the West, where political centrism has been steadily losing ground to illiberal populism.
—Charles A. Kupchan, The Atlantic, 10 Jan. 2025
See All Example Sentences for illiberal
Recent Examples of Synonyms for illiberal
Adjective
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This may seem like an impossible task in a world where politics is becoming more divisive, foreign policy more parochial, and social media bubbles more impenetrable.—
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For more than a century, religious education had been deeply entrenched in the state; in Cleveland, the parochial system was one of the largest in the country.—
Adjective
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The gap is quite narrow in some places, like Delaware and Maryland, but in places like Kentucky, systemic racial barriers continue to hold people back.—
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Last night’s special had a comparatively narrow focus, prioritizing the characters and celebrities that many younger viewers would recognize.—
Adjective
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The footage shows Caldwell calling the nearby Packers fans vulgar and sexist names, while taunting the man accompanying her with explicit gestures.—
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Michael Thomas Lewis, 55, let out multiple outbursts during his first appearance in court since he was arrested over the weekend and accused of making a series of vulgar, threatening online statements at Clark, the Indiana Fever superstar.—
Adjective
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Hang it in a small bathroom for over-the-toilet storage or in the laundry room for detergent and stain removers—this versatile cabinet can do it all.—
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The gigs in smaller rooms than Simon has typically played, will allow the singer to perform the songs from Seven Psalms live for the first time.—
Adjective
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The only non-active members of that group not in the Hall of Fame are Roger Clemens, who has been linked to performance-enhancing drugs, and Curt Schilling, whose long history of bigoted and inflammatory remarks hurt his standing with voters over the years.—
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Morton agreed to produce Ian’s debut, Society’s Child, the album that would simultaneously propel her to stardom and sacrifice her to bigoted attacks.—
Adjective
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Ak — who was previously accused of rape — was immediately faced with accusations of grooming, later admitting to his crass behavior.—
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After a decade as openers for regional musical acts, and only gradually incorporating often crass comedy into their act, Williams and Ree moved to Los Angeles and became regulars at the Comedy Store during the late 1970s.—
Adjective
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The professor said the groups committed crimes, but their offenses were relatively petty by today’s standards: brawling and shakedowns of non-gang members for their bikes or lunch money.—
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With the wave of a hand—or, to be more precise, the tapping of a few overnight posts on social media—American political horizons are being remade in ways that are petty and absurd.—
Adjective
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The spokesman, Carlos Hernández, said the bodies of 36 men and 15 women had been sent to a provincial morgue set up for the accident.—
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The plane, which was contracted by the U.S. Department of Defense, crashed in a rice field about half a mile from a cluster of farmhouses, according to Windy Beaty, a provincial disaster mitigation officer.—
Cite this Entry
“Illiberal.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/illiberal. Accessed 27 Feb. 2025.
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