at liberty
41
3.6
- idiom
:
libre
- As a member of the board, I am now at liberty to explore new policies.
- feel at liberty
- set at liberty
- time at liberty
Examples
-
After the children left and after his wife died, he was at liberty to roam the house.
Fiction book (1993) -
Currently producing about 900 thousand barrels per day, Egypt is not at liberty to expand production in the short term.
Academic text (1990) -
People here are at liberty to choose to be completely free.
Fiction book (1993) -
How can a person feel free and at liberty if losing a job means losing health insurance?
Blog text (16) -
Every museum is also at liberty to display objects from private collectors.
Academic text (2006) -
Once the project is complete, employees will be at liberty to take vacation days.
-
After finishing my exams, I felt at liberty to enjoy my summer without any obligations.
Synonyms
Without being held or controlled and able to move
Antonyms
How Free
Surface Forms
Morphology
at + liberty
The meaning 'free to do as one wishes' is directly derivable from combining 'liberty' (ability to act without restriction) with the preposition 'at' marking a state or condition; a learner who knows both words can infer 'in a state of freedom'. This locative/state composition is cross-linguistically common (e.g. Spanish 'estar en libertad'), so the expression is transparent to a B1 learner.
Etymology
At liberty comes from the old word liberty, which meant being free from prison or control. When someone was 'at liberty' they could move or act, so today at liberty means 'free to do as you wish'.