illiberal

adjective

il·​lib·​er·​al (ˌ)i(l)-ˈli-b(ə-)rəl 

: not liberal: such as

a

: opposed to political liberalism

especially : restricting individual rights and freedoms

Her latest book … looks at how illiberal leaders use propaganda, corruption, violence and machismo …

—University of Hawaii

Authoritarian or hybrid regimes, no matter how illiberal, will still be treated as legitimate if they can provide security for their subjects and spark economic growth.

—Robert D. Kaplan

With the coming of the cold war, many Westerners were struck by the resemblance of Stalin's Russia to Hitler's Germany. Both were illiberal, highly centralized regimes that seemed to fit into the general designation of totalitarian states.

—Donald Kagan

b

: not broad-minded : bigoted

… used the migrant crisis to stir up racist, illiberal views.

—Eoin O'Malley

c

archaic : not generous : stingy

… Theobald felt quite good-natured, and sent … even more soup and wine than her usual not illiberal allowance.

—Samuel Butler

d

archaic : lacking culture and refinement

The tall gentleman came to meet her, looking very rigid and grave. But it was a rigidity that had no illiberal meaning.

—Henry James

Drunkenness, the most illiberal … of our vices, was sometimes capable, in a less civilized state of mankind, of occasioning a battle, a war, or a revolution.

—Edward Gibbon

e

archaic : lacking or permitting a lack of a liberal arts education

illiberal occupations

illiberality

(ˌ)i(l)-ˌli-bə-ˈra-lə-tē 

noun

plural illiberalities

illiberally

(ˌ)i(l)-ˈli-b(ə-)rə-lē 

adverb

illiberalness

(ˌ)i(l)-ˈli-b(ə-)rəl-nəs 

noun

Synonyms

• insular
• Lilliputian
• little
• narrow
• narrow-minded
• parochial
• petty
• picayune
• provincial
• sectarian
• small
• small-minded

Examples of illiberal in a Sentence

an illiberal attitude toward sex

an illiberal society that viewed any artistic depiction of the nude as inherently indecent

Recent Examples on the Web

An old point, but one that cannot be stressed enough: If liberal parties fail to keep law and order, people will turn to illiberal parties to do the job. —Jay Nordlinger, National Review, 18 Sep. 2024

Thinking in a binary way about a liberal EU besieged by an illiberal far right externalizes the problem of the far right, obscuring a clearer understanding of how the EU might evolve in the future. —Hans Kundnani, Foreign Affairs, 10 Sep. 2024

But the group polled included government officials, and even illiberal democracies now feel pressure to respond to citizens’ views. —Lynn Kuok, Foreign Affairs, 3 Sep. 2024

An illiberal Israel would also become a pariah state. —Ilan Z. Baron, Foreign Affairs, 12 Aug. 2024

Word History

Etymology

Middle French or Latin; Middle French, from Latin illiberalis ignoble, stingy, from Latin in- + liberalis liberal

First Known Use

1588, in the meaning defined above