Skip to main content
Glite Dictionary
😈 An immoral man 🍷 Unrestrained
libertine

libertine

5 9.9
A person who ignores moral rules, especially about sex
  • noun
  • /ˈlɪbərˌtiːn/
  • NSFW
translation icon : libertino
  • Throughout history, notorious libertines have often been the subjects of gossip and controversy in society.
  • a notorious libertine
  • a reckless libertine
  • a sexual libertine

And they had a club called the Libertines.

Examples

  • "I suppose he's a bit of a libertine," he finally offered.

    Fiction book (1990)

  • Strikingly, Jemima's own sentimental education has been quite uncommon: her impulse toward self-improvement has been fostered by a brilliant but dissolute libertine.

    Academic text (2010)

  • That's the last we hear of this prisoner of sex who is a kind of libertine in the making.

  • I have described Mr. Willoughby as the worst of libertines.

    Sense and Sensibility (1995)

  • No, Byron was immoral, he was a libertine.

    Raintree County (1957)

  • Casanova the libertine who devotes his life to seducing women.

    Casanova (2005)

  • She's the King's mistress-- a libertine and a commoner like you, though she fights like hell to hide it.

    Casanova (2015)

  • None but libertines delight in him, for he both pleases men and angers them.

    Much Ado About Nothing (1993)

  • If he subscribes, as he does, to allowing moral license, licentiousness unrestrained, he is a libertine, not a libertarian.

    Blog text (33)

  • His reputation as a libertine preceded him, as he often flaunted his disregard for moral values in relationships.

Synonyms

rounder
vslibertine
  • Offensive
5 9.9

A person who often drinks too much and behaves badly

is used more for sexual behaviour without responsibility rather than general debauchery
debauchee
vslibertine
  • NSFW
1 9.9

A person who enjoys sex, drinking, and wild parties too much

focuses more on sexual irresponsibility rather than general pleasure seeking

Antonyms

prude
  • Offensive
35 6.6

A person who feels embarrassed by sexual talk and likes to act in a modest way

moralist
3 6.7

A person who teaches or writes about what is right and wrong

How Licentious

reprobate
  • Offensive
8 9.1
debauchee
  • NSFW
1 9.9
libertine
  • NSFW
5 9.9
philanderer
  • NSFW
9 8.7
playboy
159 6.2

Surface Forms

libertine singular
libertines plural

Morphology

libertine = liberty (opaque) = libert + ine

The form links clearly to 'liberty' via the combining form 'libert-' plus the suffix '-ine', but the modern sense 'licentious' or 'morally unrestrained' is a shifted, specialized meaning not directly inferable by all learners.

Etymology

Libertine comes from the Latin root liber meaning 'free' and is related to liberty. So, at first a libertine was someone 'free' from normal social bonds, and today the word means a person who ignores moral or sexual rules.