| / English Dictionary |
FREE
| Pronunciation (US): |  | (GB): | |
Irregular inflected forms: freer , freest
I. (noun)
Sense 1
Meaning:
People who are free
Example:
the home of the free and the brave
Synonyms:
free; free people
Classified under:
Nouns denoting groupings of people or objects
Hypernyms ("free" is a kind of...):
people ((plural) any group of human beings (men or women or children) collectively)
Derivation:
free (grant freedom to; free from confinement)
II. (adjective)
Sense 1
Meaning:
Not literal
Example:
a free translation of the poem
Synonyms:
Classified under:
Similar:
inexact (not exact)
Sense 2
Meaning:
Completely wanting or lacking
Example:
the sentence was devoid of meaning
Synonyms:
barren; destitute; devoid; free; innocent
Classified under:
Similar:
nonexistent (not having existence or being or actuality)
Sense 3
Meaning:
Unconstrained or not chemically bound in a molecule or not fixed and capable of relatively unrestricted motion
Example:
a free electron
Classified under:
Adjectives
Similar:
liberated ((of a gas e.g.) released from chemical combination)
unbound (not held in chemical or physical combination)
Domain category:
chemical science; chemistry (the science of matter; the branch of the natural sciences dealing with the composition of substances and their properties and reactions)
natural philosophy; physics (the science of matter and energy and their interactions)
Antonym:
bound (held with another element, substance or material in chemical or physical union)
Sense 4
Meaning:
Not fixed in position
Example:
he pulled his arm free and ran
Synonyms:
detached; free
Classified under:
Adjectives
Similar:
unfixed (not firmly placed or set or fastened)
Sense 5
Meaning:
Not limited or hampered; not under compulsion or restraint
Example:
a free choice
Classified under:
Adjectives
Similar:
unrestricted (free of restrictions on conduct)
unhampered (not held in check or subject to control)
unconstrained (free from constraint)
unconfined; unimprisoned (free from confinement or physical restraint)
out-of-school (not attending school and therefore free to work)
footloose (free to go or do as one pleases)
emancipated; liberated (free from traditional social restraints)
clear (free from contact or proximity or connection)
atrip; aweigh ((of an anchor) just clear of the bottom)
available; uncommitted (not busy; not otherwise committed)
autonomous; independent; self-governing; sovereign ((of political bodies) not controlled by outside forces)
at large; escaped; loose; on the loose (having escaped, especially from confinement)
Also:
unrestricted (not subject to or subjected to restriction)
unrestrained (not subject to restraint)
free (not held in servitude)
unbound (not restrained or tied down by bonds)
unconfined (not confined)
independent (free from external control and constraint)
Attribute:
freedom (the condition of being free; the power to act or speak or think without externally imposed restraints)
Antonym:
unfree (hampered and not free; not able to act at will)
Sense 6
Meaning:
Not held in servitude
Example:
after the Civil War he was a free man
Classified under:
Adjectives
Similar:
freeborn (born free of free parents)
free-soil; non-slave; slaveless (where slavery was prohibited)
Also:
free (not limited or hampered; not under compulsion or restraint)
Antonym:
unfree (held in servitude)
Sense 7
Meaning:
Not occupied or in use
Example:
a free lane
Classified under:
Adjectives
Similar:
unoccupied (not held or filled or in use)
Sense 8
Meaning:
Not taken up by scheduled activities
Example:
spare time on my hands
Synonyms:
free; spare
Classified under:
Adjectives
Similar:
unoccupied (not held or filled or in use)
Sense 9
Meaning:
Costing nothing
Example:
free admission
Synonyms:
complimentary; costless; free; gratis; gratuitous
Classified under:
Adjectives
Similar:
unpaid (not paid)
III. (verb)
Verb forms
Present simple: I / you / we / they free ... he / she / it frees
Past simple: freed
Past participle: freed
-ing form: freeing
Sense 1
Meaning:
Make (assets) available
Example:
release the holdings in the dictator's bank account
Synonyms:
free; release; unblock; unfreeze
Classified under:
Verbs of size, temperature change, intensifying, etc.
Hypernyms (to "free" is one way to...):
issue; supply (circulate or distribute or equip with)
Sentence frame:
Somebody ----s something
Sense 2
Meaning:
Let off the hook
Example:
I absolve you from this responsibility
Synonyms:
absolve; free
Classified under:
Verbs of telling, asking, ordering, singing
Hypernyms (to "free" is one way to...):
forgive (stop blaming or grant forgiveness)
Troponyms (each of the following is one way to "free"):
excuse; exempt; let off; relieve (grant exemption or release to)
justify ((used of God) declare innocent; absolve from the penalty of sin)
wash one's hands (to absolve oneself of responsibility or future blame)
Sentence frame:
Somebody ----s somebody of something
Sense 3
Meaning:
Free or remove obstruction from
Example:
free a path across the cluttered floor
Synonyms:
disengage; free
Classified under:
Verbs of touching, hitting, tying, digging
Troponyms (each of the following is one way to "free"):
dig out (dig out from underneath earth or snow)
unclog (become or cause to become unobstructed)
loosen up; unstuff (cause to become unblocked)
disencumber; disentangle; extricate; untangle (release from entanglement of difficulty)
Sentence frames:
Somebody ----s something
Something ----s something
Antonym:
obstruct (block passage through)
Sense 4
Meaning:
Remove or force out from a position
Example:
He finally could free the legs of the earthquake victim who was buried in the rubble
Synonyms:
dislodge; free
Classified under:
Verbs of touching, hitting, tying, digging
Hypernyms (to "free" is one way to...):
remove; take; take away; withdraw (remove something concrete, as by lifting, pushing, or taking off, or remove something abstract)
Sentence frames:
Somebody ----s something
Somebody ----s something PP
Sense 5
Meaning:
Release (gas or energy) as a result of a chemical reaction or physical decomposition
Synonyms:
free; liberate; release
Classified under:
Verbs of sewing, baking, painting, performing
Hypernyms (to "free" is one way to...):
bring forth; generate (bring into existence)
Domain category:
chemical science; chemistry (the science of matter; the branch of the natural sciences dealing with the composition of substances and their properties and reactions)
Sentence frame:
Somebody ----s something
Sense 6
Meaning:
Part with a possession or right
Example:
resign a claim to the throne
Synonyms:
free; give up; release; relinquish; resign
Classified under:
Verbs of buying, selling, owning
Hypernyms (to "free" is one way to...):
give; hand; pass; pass on; reach; turn over (place into the hands or custody of)
Troponyms (each of the following is one way to "free"):
derequisition (release from government control)
give; sacrifice (endure the loss of)
Sentence frames:
Somebody ----s something
Somebody ----s something to somebody
Sense 7
Meaning:
Relieve from
Example:
Rid the house of pests
Synonyms:
disembarrass; free; rid
Classified under:
Verbs of buying, selling, owning
Troponyms (each of the following is one way to "free"):
disembody (free from a body or physical form or reality)
disinfest (rid of vermin)
clear (clear from impurities, blemishes, pollution, etc.)
smooth; smooth out (free from obstructions)
relieve (free from a burden, evil, or distress)
cleanse (purge of an ideology, bad thoughts, or sins)
Sentence frame:
Somebody ----s somebody of something
Sense 8
Meaning:
Grant freedom to; free from confinement
Synonyms:
free; liberate; loose; release; unloose; unloosen
Classified under:
Verbs of political and social activities and events
Troponyms (each of the following is one way to "free"):
parole (release a criminal from detention and place him on parole)
bail out (free on bail)
run (set animals loose to graze)
bail (release after a security has been paid)
unchain (make free)
unspell (release from a spell)
Sentence frames:
Somebody ----s somebody
Something ----s somebody
Sentence example:
They want to free the prisoners
Antonym:
confine (deprive of freedom; take into confinement)
Derivation:
free (people who are free)
freeing (the act of liberating someone or something)
Sense 9
Meaning:
Free from obligations or duties
Synonyms:
discharge; free
Classified under:
Verbs of political and social activities and events
Troponyms (each of the following is one way to "free"):
disinvest; divest (deprive of status or authority)
relieve; take over (free someone temporarily from his or her obligations)
cut (discharge from a group)
clear (free from payment of customs duties, as of a shipment)
cashier (discharge with dishonor, as in the army)
liberate; set free (grant freedom to)
disembroil; disentangle; disinvolve (free from involvement or entanglement)
Sentence frames:
Somebody ----s somebody
Something ----s somebody
Derivation:
freeing (the act of liberating someone or something)
Sense 10
Meaning:
Make (information) available for publication
Example:
release the list with the names of the prisoners
Synonyms:
free; release
Classified under:
Verbs of political and social activities and events
Hypernyms (to "free" is one way to...):
issue; supply (circulate or distribute or equip with)
Troponyms (each of the following is one way to "free"):
declassify (lift the restriction on and make available again)
Sentence frames:
Somebody ----s something
Something ----s something
Sense 11
Meaning:
Grant relief or an exemption from a rule or requirement to
Example:
She exempted me from the exam
Synonyms:
exempt; free; relieve
Classified under:
Verbs of political and social activities and events
Troponyms (each of the following is one way to "free"):
derestrict (make free from restrictions)
deregulate (lift the regulations on)
dispense (grant a dispensation; grant an exemption)
forgive (absolve from payment)
spare (save or relieve from an experience or action)
Sentence frame:
Somebody ----s somebody PP
IV. (adverb)
Sense 1
Meaning:
Without restraint
Example:
cows in India are running loose
Synonyms:
free; loose
Classified under:
Context examples:
It can be performed easily, without complications, and gives quick pain relief, which is important to parents who want to see their children happy, healthy and pain free again.
(Innovative Treatment Offers Relief to Children with Frequent Migraine Headaches, The Titi Tudorancea Bulletin)
This results in accumulation of free heme, which is toxic to the parasites.
(Amodiaquine, NCI Thesaurus)
I could not forget that the feeling with which she now regarded me had grown up in my own free choice and course.
(David Copperfield, by Charles Dickens)
Antioxidants bind to and neutralize ('scavenge') free radicals, thereby transforming them into non-toxic compounds and blocking their genotoxic and carcinogenic effects.
(Antioxidant, NCI Thesaurus)
Treatment with antioxidants in order to protect cells against damage caused by oxygen-free radicals.
(Antioxidants Therapy, NCI Thesaurus)
A substance that protects cells from the damage caused by free radicals (unstable molecules made by the process of oxidation during normal metabolism).
(Antioxidant, NCI Dictionary)
It was the mandate of his instinct that that head must be free.
(White Fang, by Jack London)
Argatroban is highly selective for thrombin and is able to inhibit the action of both free and clot-associated thrombin.
(Argatroban, NCI Thesaurus)
I will come to you here and now, in free love if you will, and I will be proud and glad to be with you.
(Martin Eden, by Jack London)
Within mitochondria, mutant SOD1 may interfere with the anti-apoptotic function of Bcl-2, affect mitochondrial import by interfering with the translocation machinery (TOM/TIM), and generate toxic free radicals (ROS) via aberrant superoxide chemistry.
(Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis Pathway, NCI Thesaurus/KEGG)
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