free love
7
6.5
- noun
- /fri lʌv/
- NSFW
:
amor libre
- The Nicholses’ utopian community Memnonia therefore taught both free love and Spiritualism.
We know that Zeno wrote a Republic in which there was something like free love going on.
- We know that Zeno wrote a Republic in which there was something like free love going on.
- The music, the fashion, the protesting, the free love.
Examples
-
I'm in favor of free love, I said.
Fiction book (1993) -
In 1969, even at the crest of the free-love movement, it was not a legal option.
Fiction book (2000) -
But there were people who thought "free love" was a good idea.
Blog text (25) -
Right, there is a kind of free love theme going on.
Blog text (8) -
She believed in free love.
-
More practically, many spirits simply taught free love principles as good.
Academic text (2018) -
For Mary, who had known the pain of an unhappy marriage, the purpose of free love was to facilitate loving unions, not to promote promiscuity.
Academic text (2018) -
Together they practiced hydropathy, advocated for health reform and women's rights, and promoted free love.
Academic text (2018) -
In 1855, Thomas declared free love "the GREAT CENTRAL DOCTRINE OF SPIRITUALISM."
Academic text (2018) -
In the 1960s, many young people embraced free love as a way to express their beliefs about sexual freedom.
Antonyms
How Restrained
83
4.9
44
3.9
- NSFW
7
6.2
- NSFW
7
6.5
2
6.7
Surface Forms
Morphology
The constituent meanings 'free' (without constraints) and 'love' (sexual/romantic affection) point directly to the idea of sexual relations without commitment, so a learner who knows both words can infer the basic sense. However, the phrase also carries a specific socio-historical/ideological meaning (the 1960s movement) and can be ambiguous (e.g., 'love that's free of charge'), so the full cultural nuance is not fully predictable from the parts alone.
Etymology
Free love comes from groups in the late 1800s and the 1960s who said love should be free from marriage and rules. The image of love not tied by marriage explains why today it means 'sexual relations' between people who are 'not married' and a belief in 'sexual freedom'.