libertarian

noun

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lib·er·tar·i·an | \ ˌli-bər-ˈter-ē-ən

, -ˈte-rē- \

Definition of libertarian

1 : an advocate of the doctrine of free will

2a : a person who upholds the principles of individual liberty especially of thought and action

b capitalized : a member of a political party advocating libertarian principles

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Examples of libertarian in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web Gutfeld, who identifies as a libertarian, said people on both sides of the political aisle will be getting his abuse. — Stephen Battaglio Staff Writer, Los Angeles Times, "Greg Gutfeld goes after late night laughs for Fox News," 5 Apr. 2021 Sean Wiley, who voted twice for Mr. Trump and describes himself as a conservative libertarian, said the government needed to provide assistance to people who have lost their jobs in the pandemic but argued that the current package was too large. — New York Times, "Give Biden a Chance? On Covid Aid, Some Trump Voters Just Might," 25 Feb. 2021 Shorn and clean-shaven, flecks of gray in his sideburns, swapping denim and frills for off-the-rack suit jackets, Zappa perfectly fit the image of the American civil libertarian. — John Semley, The New Republic, "How Weird Was Frank Zappa?," 26 Nov. 2020 Needless to say, the former option is much more congenial to the GOP’s libertarian and business wings. — Robert Verbruggen, National Review, "A Conservative Future for the Labor Movement?," 10 Sep. 2020 Massie, a libertarian-leaning Republican, defended the Illinois teen, Kyle Rittenhouse. — Bruce Schreiner, Star Tribune, "Kentucky congressman defends teen accused in protest deaths," 4 Sep. 2020 Spanberger, a former CIA officer, faces Virginia Del. Nick Freitas, a former Green Beret vet and libertarian-leaning Republican. — Washington Post, "Obama endorses several Virginia Democrats who are running for Congress in tight races," 3 Aug. 2020 And a proposal to use more intrusive mobile phone location data to track the virus failed to pass in the German parliament last month after protests from civil libertarians. — Hadas Gold, CNN, "Wary Germans hate sharing their data. Will they use a Covid-19 tracking app?," 25 Apr. 2020 Civil libertarians have objected to the fact that the law allows guns to be removed for up to 21 days before a court hears the testimony from the person losing the firearms. — Los Angeles Times, "California could expand use of gun violence restraining orders under bill sent to governor," 9 Sep. 2019

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'libertarian.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.