Definitions
American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
- n. The state or quality of being libertine.
- n. The behavior characteristic of a libertine; promiscuity.
Century Dictionary and Cyclopedia
- n. The exercise of the privileges and rights of a libertine or freedman; exemption from servitude and its disabilities.
- n. The state of being free or unrestrained in thought or action.
- n. Irreligiousness; regardlessness of the dictates of morality.
- n. The character or conduct of a libertine or rake; licentiousness; unrestrained indulgence of lust; debauchery; lewdness.
Wiktionary
- n. A lifestyle or pattern of behavior characterized by self-indulgence and lack of restraint, especially one involving sexual promiscuity and rejection of religious or other moral authority.
GNU Webster's 1913
- n. The state of a libertine or freedman.
- n. Licentious conduct; debauchery; lewdness.
- n. Licentiousness of principle or opinion.
Examples
“Also, Mlle. Nanette affected an air of reserve and took at on herself to read me lessons on what she was pleased to call my libertinism ....”
“And, secondly, about those things that more strictly refer to their own character and profession, and which distinguish them from all other professors of Christianity; avoiding two extremes upon which many split, viz. persecution and libertinism, that is, a coercive power to whip people into the temple; that such as will not conform, though against faith and conscience, shall be punished in their persons or estates; or leaving all loose and at large, as to practice; and so unaccountable to all but God and the magistrate.”
A Brief Account of the Rise and Progress of the People Called Quakers
“It is ordinary heathen libertinism which is disseminated by these”
“A French traveler reported in the 1790s that “a great many husbands” patronized whorehouses as “a means to libertinism.””
“European visitors frequently commented on the “astonishing libertinism” of early American cities.”
“What they most disliked was the perceived moral laxity and libertinism of the West, which, interestingly, is exactly what Americans said when we polled them on those two questions.”
Matthew Yglesias » Blankley Calls for Comprehensive Press Censorship
“But the Sacred Order of Libertines doesn't really have an official position on such matters; that would be quite at odds with our libertinism.”
“They are trying their mightiest to "determine the future", including pushing gay marriage upon the country, and more pervasively, pushing a cultural agenda of sexual libertinism with deleterious effects to families and individuals alike.”
"I would say that normally it is the creative minorities that determine the future..."
“Straightforward libertinism, it was agreed, was nothing to worry about.”
“Thus Mr. Reimold, in defending columns that promote youthful libertinism, singles out two that in fact encourage students to treat sex seriously and to behave like the adults they may soon become.”
Lists
These user-created lists contain the word ‘libertinism’.
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