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Glite Dictionary
freebooter

freebooter

1 9.9
A person who steals goods during war, often from villages or ships
  • noun
  • /ˈfriːˌbuːtər/
  • Archaic
translation icon : pirata
  • During the war, the freebooters raided coastal villages for supplies and loot.

Examples

  • The freebooter sailed the high seas, searching for treasure and glory.

  • Boyo, I'm a freebooter and a mercenary, not a teacher

    Fiction book (2002)

  • You have called me a conqueror... a freebooter.

    The Agony and the Ecstasy (1965)

  • It's you and the others that called him a "freebooter" a "butcher," a "conqueror."

    The Agony and the Ecstasy (1965)

  • Pursued at sea? - By freebooters? - A freebooter... ...with a skirt, I dare say.

    Mary of Scotland (1936)

  • The most popular base for the freebooters was St. Mary's Island, off the coast of Madagascar.

    Academic text (2009)

  • Their outlook was much like that of a number of Israelis whom I came to know later in life; they were pioneers verging on freebooters.

    Fiction book (1991)

  • We've been attacked by Apaches, by local bandits, by freebooters from Texas, then liberated by the French and now United States Cavalry.

    Major Dundee (1965)

  • The tales of the infamous freebooter were popular among sailors and adventurers.

Synonyms

pirate
vsfreebooter
356 3.3

A person who attacks and robs ships at sea

is broader covering plunder in war and adventure not only sea attacks
looter
vsfreebooter
43 5.3

A person who steals things from shops and homes during riots or disasters

is more adventurous and may include planned sea or wartime plundering rather than opportunism
raider
vsfreebooter
29 5.1

A person who enters a place to steal things by force

is more adventurous and may imply private sea or exploration raids too
buccaneer
vsfreebooter
24 9.5

A pirate who attacks and robs ships at sea

is broader covering plunder in war and adventurous activity not only sea raids
marauder
vsfreebooter
  • NSFW
16 8.8

A person who attacks places to steal things

is more tied to adventurous or seafaring plunder rather than general attacks
plunderer
vsfreebooter
1 7.2

A person who steals things by force from places like shops or homes during war

is more adventurous and can include sea or private expedition plundering
pillager
vsfreebooter
1 8.1

A person who steals things from places like shops, often during war

is more likely to include adventurous sea or private plundering roles
despoiler
vsfreebooter
1 9.9

A person who steals valuable things by force, often during war

is less formal and can imply private adventure or sea raiding as well
sea robber
vsfreebooter
  • Archaic
8.6

A person who steals from ships or coastal towns

is the wider wartime or adventurous plundering, not limited to sea raids
sea rover
vsfreebooter
  • Archaic
9.9

A person who robs ships and coastal places at sea without government permission

is the broader plundering role that also suggests adventurous activity in war
spoiler
vsfreebooter
  • Archaic
9.5

A person who takes goods by force from people during war

is broader and adds an adventurous or private raiding sense beyond seizing spoils

Antonyms

law-abiding
63 3.4

Following the law and not breaking rules

How Lawless

pirate
356 3.3
freebooter
  • Archaic
1 9.9
raider
29 5.1
privateer
  • Archaic
4 9.8

Surface Forms

freebooter singular
freebooters plural

Morphology

freebooter = freeboot (opaque) = freeboot + er

Formation from the verb 'freeboot' + agentive suffix '-er' is a regular and recognizable morphological process.

Etymology

Freebooter comes from an old Dutch word that joins vrij ('free') and buit ('booty'), and the English word booty also means 'treasure'. So a freebooter is someone who takes treasure for themselves, like a pirate or robber.