civil liberty

noun

plural civil liberties

: freedom from arbitrary interference in one's speech or actions by other individuals or by the government especially as constitutionally guaranteed (as by the U.S. Bill of Rights)

—usually plural

Examples of civil liberties include freedom of speech, freedom of religion, freedom of assembly, freedom of the press, the right to privacy, and the right to due process of law.

—Ramon Martin

compare civil rights

civil libertarian noun

plural civil libertarians

Civil libertarians contend that the heightened scrutiny has discouraged illegal immigrants from seeking marriage, … a fundamental right protected under the Constitution.

—Randy Kennedy

civil libertarian adjective

… continued divisions within the GOP on civil libertarian issues.

—Ian Duncan and Lisa Mascaro

Examples of civil liberty in a Sentence

Freedom of speech is a civil liberty.

Recent Examples on the Web

The coming years will lock in a transformation of the federal judiciary that will leave these courts increasingly hostile to individual rights and civil liberties. —Peter Martin, New York Daily News, 28 Feb. 2025

Trump said in late January that his administration would prepare to detain up to 30,000 migrants there despite pushback from civil liberties groups. —Ted Hesson, USA TODAY, 21 Feb. 2025

Tech oligarchs, the gerontocracy, podcasters spouting misinformation and the erosion of civil liberties all blur into a muddy soup that’s adjacent to relevancy without ever achieving it. —Alison Herman, Variety, 20 Feb. 2025

Yet Dewey, by then, already regretted his enthusiasm for a war that brought only mass suffering and death abroad and the suppression of civil liberties at home. —Gideon Lewis-Kraus, The New Yorker, 19 Feb. 2025

Word History

First Known Use

1640, in the meaning defined above

Legal Definition

civil liberty

noun

: freedom from arbitrary interference in one's pursuits (as in expressing thoughts, practicing a religion, or pursuing a living) by individuals or especially by the government and especially as constitutionally guaranteed

—usually used in pl. see also civil right