to set free
218
2.7
- phrasal verb
- /sɛt fri/
:
liberar
- The prisoners were finally set free after years of wrongful confinement.
- to set free someone
For when we died with Christ, we were set free from the power of sin.
- For when we died with Christ, we were set free from the power of sin.
- So being honest will not just set you free, it can set him free.
- Let me say you had to be set free because that's not where you belonged.
- What is the truth that if I acknowledged, would set me free to feel that?
- And my goal is to set people free emotionally.
- You need to be set free to explore and reinvent your character.
- And so therefore they had to be set free.
- If you forgive, it will set you free.
- So I was like, this man could set people free and he does.
- Like I'm hoping that letter sets her free.
- And many people do once they are set free.
- Know the Truth, and the truth will set you free.
Examples
-
Wisdom and compassion will set us free.
-
- I demand you set me free!
-
So being honest will not just set you free, it can set him free.
-
He'll think, you know, he turned his life around and he got set free, you know?
-
Oh, my cat wants to be set free for Christmas.
-
Paul would be set free and I would go to prison.
-
If I set you free, will you leave me alone and never come back?
-
For when we died with Christ, we were set free from the power of sin.
-
Government can set people free to do that if it's arranged in the right way.
-
In all such cases, the slave must be set free as soon as circumstances permit.
Academic text (1997)
Synonyms
∞
1.8
To let someone or something go free from being held
344
1.1
Allow someone or something to leave a place
337
1.0
To release someone or something that is held
201
4.3
To suddenly let a strong feeling, power, or animal go free
104
4.3
Set someone free from prison or unfair control
84
1.3
Make a skill, chance, or secret become available
23
7.0
To set someone free from unfair control or rules so they have equal rights
22
7.6
Free a person or thing from something that traps them
18
4.4
To have fun and act without control, or to remove someone from their job
13
3.8
Set something free from being held or controlled
6
4.1
Remove chains and other things that hold someone so they are free
5
6.5
Free someone or something from limits and control
1
6.2
To free someone or something from limits so they can act more freely
1
9.9
To free someone from slavery
1
6.7
To free something by letting go of ties or limits
To free someone from slavery or forced work
Antonyms
How Free
- Formal
23
7.0
104
4.3
218
2.7
∞
1.8
∞
1.4
Surface Forms
Morphology
The meaning 'to release from confinement' is directly derivable from combining 'set' (to cause or put into a state) with 'free' (to release), yielding 'cause to be free'. This follows a common English causative composition (set + adjective/verb) and is cross-linguistically transparent, so a B1 learner who knows both constituents will readily infer the MWE meaning.
Etymology
Set free comes from the simple image of opening a cage and putting a bird into the open sky. Here set means 'to put' and free means 'not locked', so the phrase came to mean 'to let someone go' or 'to free someone who was locked up'.