The difference between Liberal and Small-l liberal

When used as nouns, liberal means one with liberal views, supporting individual liberty (see wikipedia's article on liberalism), whereas small-l liberal means a person who holds liberal views but is not a member of their country's "liberal party".


Liberal is also adjective with the meaning: pertaining to those arts and sciences the study of which is considered to provide general knowledge, as opposed to /, or training.

check bellow for the other definitions of Liberal and Small-l liberal

  1. Liberal as an adjective (now, rare, outside, set phrases):

    Pertaining to those arts and sciences the study of which is considered to provide general knowledge, as opposed to /, or training.

    Examples:

    "He had a full education studying the liberal arts."

  2. Liberal as an adjective:

    Generous; willing to give unsparingly.

    Examples:

    "He was liberal with his compliments."

  3. Liberal as an adjective:

    Ample, abundant; generous in quantity.

    Examples:

    "Add a liberal sprinkling of salt."

  4. Liberal as an adjective (obsolete):

    Unrestrained, licentious.

  5. Liberal as an adjective:

    Widely open to new ideas, willing to depart from established opinions or conventions; permissive.

    Examples:

    "Her parents had liberal ideas about child-rearing."

  6. Liberal as an adjective (politics):

    Open to political or social changes and reforms associated with either classical or modern liberalism.

  1. Liberal as a noun:

    One with liberal views, supporting individual liberty (see Wikipedia's article on Liberalism).

  2. Liberal as a noun (US):

    Someone left-wing; one with a left-wing ideology.

  3. Liberal as a noun:

    A supporter of any of several liberal parties.

  4. Liberal as a noun (UK):

    One who favors individual voting rights, human and civil rights, and laissez-faire markets .

  1. Small-l liberal as a noun (politics):

    A person who holds liberal views but is not a member of their country's "Liberal Party".

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