What does liberate mean?
Word: Liberate
Part of Speech: Verb
Meaning: Liberate means to set someone or something free from control or from a difficult situation.
Synonyms: free
How do you spell liberate?
Syllables: lib - er - ate
Tricky part: The middle e is said so quickly that it is easy to drop it or turn it into a u or an a.
Watch out for: liburate, libarate
Memory tip: After the b comes er, the same pair of letters as in number and timber.
Liberate in a sentence
Example 1: Learning to read liberated my grandmother; she no longer needed anyone to read her letters.
Example 2: Volunteers liberated a pigeon tangled in kite string on the terrace.
Example 3: Opening the old sluice gates liberated the river, and water flowed down to the dry fields.
Fun Fact
Chemists use the word too: when baking soda and vinegar are mixed, the reaction liberates bubbles of carbon dioxide gas.
Practise the CREST Way
Word Cookie
Insert the correct pair of letters to form a word:
l_ber_te
a) i, i
b) e, a
c) i, a
d) y, a
Show answer
c) i, a. The word opens with the short vowel of lip, and the ending sounds like eight.
Word Connection
Choose the antonym of the word:
liberate
a) restrict
b) unlock
c) release
d) rescue
Show answer
a) restrict. Release, rescue and unlock all let something go; to restrict is to hold it back.
Mingle-Mangle
Form a meaningful word from the jumbled letters:
tlbeaire
a) literate
b) liberate
c) liberal
d) tolerate
Show answer
b) liberate. A b and two e's are in the jumble, with no o, which rules out every option but one.
Spell-o-Spell
Choose the incorrectly spelt word:
a) separate
b) liberate
c) generous
d) privilage
Show answer
d) privilage. Privilege has an e after the l.
Multiple Choice Questions
1. The new dishwasher liberated Mum from hours of washing up. What did it do?
a) made her work much longer
b) needed her help every hour
c) gave her time for other things
d) broke down on the first day
Show answer
c) gave her time for other things
2. A gust of wind lifted the lid of the box and liberated the butterflies inside. What did the butterflies do?
a) stayed inside the box
b) flew out into the garden
c) fell asleep on the lid
d) changed their colour
Show answer
b) flew out into the garden
