The word "freedom": antonym, meaning

The ability to act in one's own way, lack of constraint, will. This definition was given by Vladimir Dahl to the word “freedom”. Antonym to him - "bondage." What other words or phrases that are opposite to it are present in the Russian language?

The concept

Freedom - the absence of restrictions in anything. This concept is relative. In some cases, the word "freedom" means the absence of oppression, moral or physical pressure. In others - this word by meaning borders on the concept of "arbitrariness."

According to philosophical terminology, a certain course of events in which every character is not subjected to oppression is freedom. Antonym by the way in this understanding of bondage, oppression, oppression. But in the texts there are concepts that have different semantic connotations. Antonyms for each of them will be different.

There are many more definitions of this concept. In legal terminology, “freedom” refers to certain human capabilities. In ethics, this term means the presence of will.

Freedom as one of the most important philosophical categories is devoted to more than one work. Each of them sets out slightly different definitions from each other. Consider general concepts, that is, common ones. And also give as examples sentences with words that are opposite to them in meaning.

Will

The absence of constraint, submission to someone else's will is freedom. The antonym in this case is bondage. Also opposite in meaning are slavery, captivity, imprisonment, arrest. Examples:

1. Serf slavery was abolished. The peasants were given personal freedom.
2. After ten years in prison, he was released.
3. It was not easy to get used to freedom after captivity.
4. Captivity is the restriction of the freedom of a person who took part in hostilities.
5. The revolutionaries promised the people to ensure freedom, and therefore - to get rid of many years of oppression.

Antonyms can also be such words as “prison”, “imprisonment”, “bondage”. Examples:

1. He spent so many years in prison that freedom turned his head.
2. For some, loneliness is freedom. For others, imprisonment.
3. When she finally freed herself from debt bondage, she felt real freedom.

No restrictions

By this term is understood the right to express one’s thoughts in public. Part of some persistent expressions is the word freedom. Antonyms in such cases should be selected to a specific phrase. For example, the opposite in meaning of the term “freedom of speech” is “censorship”. This expression refers to legal and journalistic vocabulary. Examples:

1. Freedom of speech allowed him to publish books that he had been writing for ten years on the table. From now on, censorship was not scary for him.
2. Freedom of thought does not extend to propaganda or agitation. Censorship is imposed on such types of public speaking.

Dependence

What other antonym can I choose for this word? “Freedom of choice” is an expression that means the ability to make an independent decision, to act at one’s own discretion. Therefore, the antonym to the phrase “freedom of choice” - “lack of choice”. For example: "Due to the lack of choice, he had no choice but to purchase the first model he came across."

The antonym of "freedom" is also "lack of freedom." For example: "He strove for complete freedom, but material dependence was for him the most terrible form of lack of freedom."

How to choose antonyms? The dictionary, which presents the antonymic series with examples and explanations, allows you to choose the opposite in meaning. But not always the use of such a guide helps to find a word that is appropriate in a particular context. When choosing a lexical unit, you should consider the style of the text.