Liberalizing

Part of speech: verb

Definitions

1. Making existing laws, rules, or policies less strict or more permissive
2. The process of reducing limitations or controls in regulations or practices
3. Acting to relax or ease restrictions imposed by previous rules or systems

Etymology: Liberalizing is a form of "liberalize," which is "liberal" with the suffix "-ize" added. The suffix comes from Ancient Greek "-izein," which passed into Latin as "-izare" and then into English through French, where it became "-ise" and "-ize." It turned up in English as a way of turning an adjective into a verb meaning "to make something (more) like that adjective." "Liberal" traces back through Latin "liberalis," meaning "befitting a free person," from "liber," "free." That sense of freedom gave the word its later political meaning, and "liberalize" carries the idea into policy: to make rules less restrictive. The verb therefore describes the act of loosening something that was once tightly controlled.

Synonyms: progressive, permissive, tolerant, expansive, freeing

Antonyms: restrictive, conservative, narrow, limited, exclusive