libertine

[lib-er-teen, -tin]

noun

1. a person who is morally or sexually unrestrained, especially a dissolute man; a profligate; rake.

   Synonyms: sensualist, lecher, debauchee, roué
   Antonyms: prude

2. a freethinker in religious matters.

3. a person freed from slavery in ancient Rome.

adjective

1. free of moral, especially sexual, restraint; dissolute; licentious.

   Synonyms: lewd, lascivious, sensual, amoral

2. freethinking in religious matters.

3. Archaic.,  unrestrained; uncontrolled.

libertine

/ ˈlɪbəˌtiːn, -ˌtaɪn /

noun

1. a morally dissolute person

adjective

1. morally dissolute

Other Word Forms

• libertinage noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of libertine¹

1350–1400; Middle English libertyn < Latin lībertīnus of a freedman (adj.), freedman (noun), equivalent to lībert ( us ) freedman (apparently by reanalysis of liber-tās liberty as libert-ās ) + -īnus -ine ¹

Word History and Origins

Origin of libertine¹

C14 (in the sense: freedman, dissolute person): from Latin lībertīnus freedman, from lībertus freed, from līber free

Example Sentences

Then again, how can there be with such a mendacious, felonious, libertine as their standard bearer?

From Salon

Timothy and Victoria aren’t aware that their sons have slipped into the type of libertine excess European aristocrats once indulged in.

From Salon

That he somehow got two wealthy libertines to do his dirty work for him is a true testament to the power of his vision.

From Salon

Some argued that they assumed Ms Pelicot had consented, or that they were taking part in a libertine sex game.

From BBC

That view treats Middle America as a catchall for sensibility, moral uprightness and a mythical strain of virtue incorrectly believed to be absent from the supposedly libertine coasts or in large cities.

From Salon