1
as in parochial
not broad or open in views or opinions
an illiberal society that viewed any artistic depiction of the nude as inherently indecent
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
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
3
as in vulgar
archaic
lacking in refinement or good taste
people who had been scorned as illiberal because they were poor
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Examples 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
Most courts would assess these deeply illiberal policies as violating basic democratic principles.
—
Dahlia Scheindlin, Foreign Affairs, 27 Sep. 2024
This research shows that modern autocrats uniformly apply key building blocks to cement their illiberal agenda and undermine democracies before taking them over.
—Cecilia Menjívar, Scientific American, 23 Sep. 2024
And so in the decade after Netanyahu’s return to power, an increasingly right-wing majority in the Knesset began advancing a slew of illiberal laws aimed at eroding civil liberties and human rights and entrenching the occupation.
—Dahlia Scheindlin, Foreign Affairs, 27 Sep. 2024
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
See all Example Sentences for illiberal 
Dahlia Scheindlin, Foreign Affairs, 27 Sep. 2024
This research shows that modern autocrats uniformly apply key building blocks to cement their illiberal agenda and undermine democracies before taking them over.
—Cecilia Menjívar, Scientific American, 23 Sep. 2024
And so in the decade after Netanyahu’s return to power, an increasingly right-wing majority in the Knesset began advancing a slew of illiberal laws aimed at eroding civil liberties and human rights and entrenching the occupation.
—Dahlia Scheindlin, Foreign Affairs, 27 Sep. 2024
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
See all Example Sentences for illiberal
Recent Examples of Synonyms for illiberal
Adjective
-
But these conservationists were not always taken seriously by professional ornithologists, who often viewed them as parochial animal lovers and laughed at their efforts.Tim Gallagher, Smithsonian Magazine, 20 Nov. 2024
-
There are literally thousands of other Americans worldwide who have dedicated their lives in similar ways to causes that are more consequential than parochial nationalism.Saleem H. Ali, Forbes, 3 Nov. 2024
Adjective
-
Shutting down the Department of Education requires congressional approval and with Republicans holding a narrow majority in the Senate, Trump's bid faces a narrow path forward.Erin Doherty, Axios, 20 Nov. 2024
-
Blackhawks express desperation but don't show it in another narrow defeat What's ailing the Packers in the red zone?New York Times, New York Times, 20 Nov. 2024
Adjective
-
The men would make vulgar comments to her, or about her, even in her presence.Riley Robinson, The Christian Science Monitor, 15 Nov. 2024
-
Opinion:Wildest moments of a chaotic and often vulgar presidential race Reach Goodykoontz at bill.goodykoontz@arizonarepublic.com.Bill Goodykoontz, The Arizona Republic, 31 Oct. 2024
Adjective
-
Netflix has ordered a second season of A Good Girl’s Guide to Murder, with Wednesday star Emma Myers returning as a teenage gumshoe who gets to the bottom of murder cases in a small English village.Etan Vlessing, The Hollywood Reporter, 20 Nov. 2024
-
But that cable business is only getting smaller, while streaming is starting to become profitable on its own.Tim Baysinger, Axios, 20 Nov. 2024
Adjective
-
Many Democrats have abandoned hope in favor of cynicism: deciding that most of the voting public are selfish, bigoted enemies of democracy.Jamil Zaki, TIME, 23 Nov. 2024
-
Latino activists in Philadelphia and Allentown are mobilizing against Donald Trump after a comedian's bigoted joke about Puerto Rico at his Madison Square Garden rally, while the former president is playing damage control.Isaac Avilucea, Axios, 29 Oct. 2024
Adjective
-
Pop listeners tend to have (often misguided) opinions about those two genres: Rap is crass, country is uncool.Justin Curto, Vulture, 27 Nov. 2024
-
What follows is an all-too-plausible scenario of crass consumerism gone wild, economic collapse and terror when all the apparats stop working.F.D. Flam, The Mercury News, 23 Nov. 2024
Adjective
-
The Rome of Gladiator II is purposefully over the top, using the backdrop of the ancient world as a way to examine how petty people have always been.Esther Zuckerman, TIME, 22 Nov. 2024
-
Seeing Kwon land a deflating chest kick on Sam, Axel abandons his petty fight with Miguel and shifts his target.Ben Rosenstock, Vulture, 16 Nov. 2024
Adjective
-
That year, an ensemble of forty-nine players performed the world premiere of his Fourth Symphony in the German provincial city of Meiningen.Justin Davidson, Curbed, 16 Oct. 2024
-
The city held the top spot on a real-time list of the world’s most polluted cities on Sunday after recording its highest-ever pollution reading of 1900 near the Pakistan-India border on Saturday, based on data released by the provincial government and Swiss group IQAir.Reuters, NBC News, 4 Nov. 2024
Thesaurus Entries Near illiberal
Cite this Entry
“Illiberal.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/illiberal. Accessed 3 Dec. 2024.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share