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as in narrow
unwilling to grant other people social rights or to accept other viewpoints some of the more illiberal residents were opposed to having a hospice for AIDS patients in the neighborhood

Synonyms & Similar Words

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

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Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of illiberal But once the pressures of war faded, America’s illiberal values reasserted themselves. Philip Klinkner, The Conversation, 13 Feb. 2025 Second, Africa's declining support for democracy provides a clear opening for illiberal actors. Gordon G. Chang, Newsweek, 3 Mar. 2025 Imagining an illiberal, renegade United States is only a matter of taking seriously what Trump says. Hal Brands, Foreign Affairs, 25 Feb. 2025 When China challenged American leadership, Putin provoked the Biden administration into suggesting that America, the defender of the liberal order, exploits that order in illiberal ways. Dominic Green, Washington Examiner - Political News and Conservative Analysis About Congress, the President, and the Federal Government, 21 Feb. 2025 See All Example Sentences for illiberal
Recent Examples of Synonyms for illiberal
Adjective
  • For the Americans working in Germany, the industry chain of command conflicted with cultural politics — Americans held parochial views about their post–World War II national superiority.
    Armond White, National Review, 28 Feb. 2025
  • Currently the parochial vicar at St. Lucy Parish in Campbell, Rev. Pedigo formerly served as pastor at St. Julie Billiart and Our Lady of Guadalupe in San Jose.
    Sal Pizarro, The Mercury News, 8 Mar. 2025
Adjective
  • The narrow five-game spread between the top and bottom performers illustrates the relative consistency in baseline predictive ability.
    Giovanni Malloy, Forbes.com, 8 Apr. 2025
  • Any migrant can individually bring a claim, Harris argued, but only in Texas where they're being held, and only along narrower grounds.
    Maureen Groppe, USA Today, 7 Apr. 2025
Adjective
  • The childish use of vulgar profanity simply leads peoople to view the speaker as being unable to express his/her view.
    Letters to the editor, The Orlando Sentinel, 4 Apr. 2025
  • Along with receiving vulgar comments in person and people taking her picture on campus, the 18-year-old has received vile and sexist messages after her phone number was posted online.
    David Chiu, People.com, 1 Apr. 2025
Adjective
  • Lee already had six permanent tattoos –– small ones easily hidden by clothing –– and thought this was a good opportunity to try out a more visible tattoo.
    Alyssa Goldberg, USA Today, 7 Apr. 2025
  • With any luck, a little digestive distress will be just a small trade-off for getting past your illness and feeling like yourself again.
    Beth Krietsch, SELF, 7 Apr. 2025
Adjective
  • The Democrats lost an election to someone with autocratic tendencies who has expressed endless racist, bigoted, and misogynistic beliefs.
    Jason D. Greenblatt, MSNBC Newsweek, 2 Apr. 2025
  • The damage included bigoted graffiti and gallons of chemical spillage, the agency said.
    Marin Independent Journal, Mercury News, 28 Mar. 2025
Adjective
  • Trump sued Maher in 2013 for $5 million after Maher made a crass joke about Trump’s mother and an orangutan.
    Elizabeth Crisp, The Hill, 31 Mar. 2025
  • He’s been accused of misogyny, thanks to his occasionally crass and combative online takes.
    Mankaprr Conteh, Rolling Stone, 19 Mar. 2025
Adjective
  • Image In Davao, Mr. Duterte remains widely popular, remembered for cracking down on problems like drugs, petty crime and violence.
    Aie Balagtas See, New York Times, 5 Apr. 2025
  • Where Hub once pursued petty criminals, he’s now charged with rounding up escaped demons by the Devil himself.
    Alison Herman, Variety, 3 Apr. 2025
Adjective
  • There will be the usual provincial arguments about which league was actually the strongest.
    Brian Hamilton, New York Times, 6 Apr. 2025
  • This year the rebels have made significant gains, including seizing the provincial capitals of Goma and Bukavu.
    Kate Bartlett, NPR, 3 Apr. 2025

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Cite this Entry

“Illiberal.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/illiberal. Accessed 15 Apr. 2025.

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