The difference between Authoritarian and Liberal

When used as nouns, authoritarian means one who commands absolute obedience to his or her authority, whereas liberal means one with liberal views, supporting individual liberty (see wikipedia's article on liberalism).

When used as adjectives, authoritarian means of, or relating to, absolute obedience to an authority, whereas liberal means 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 Authoritarian and Liberal

  1. Authoritarian as an adjective:

    Of, or relating to, absolute obedience to an authority.

  2. Authoritarian as an adjective:

    Characterised by a tyrannical obedience to an authority; dictatorial.

    Examples:

    "The authoritarian government was demanding stricter laws for low-wage peasants."

  3. Authoritarian as an adjective:

    Tending to impose one's demands upon others as if one were an authority.

  1. Authoritarian as a noun:

    One who commands absolute obedience to his or her authority.

    Examples:

    "The dictator was an authoritarian."

  2. Authoritarian as a noun:

    One who follows and is excessively obedient to authority.

  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 .