free spirit
noun
plural free spirits
: a person who thinks and acts in an uninhibited way without worrying about normal social rules : nonconformist
Their daughter is a real free spirit.
Von der Becke thinks of himself now as a free spirit: a sort of drug-free, hard-working hippie.—
Tim Cahill
Tim CahillHere was a man of extraordinary sensitivity, political acumen, spiritual power, and sexual wildness; a free spirit if ever there was one.—Alice Walker
Alice Walker
Synonyms
Examples of free spirit in a Sentence
Their daughter is a real free spirit.
an artistically inclined free spirit who felt alienated and stifled while growing up in a small town
Recent Examples on the Web
Michael Buckner / Getty Images The two have stolen countless hearts for their quirkiness and free spirits, which were on full display in Wang's 17-minute documentary.
—Andrew Blankstein, NBC News, 11 Mar. 2024
How to revive the free spirit of that frontier past?
—Conor Dougherty, New York Times, 9 Mar. 2024
Benny voices grave misgivings about the proposition, noting that Germany under Adolf Hitler is hardly a welcome environment for free spirits of any sort — and, worse, is particularly hostile to Jews like Harold.
—Joe Leydon, Variety, 15 Jan. 2024
As the weight of reaching a billion users pressed down on him, many staffers believe, Huffman began to lose some of that free spirit.
—Paresh Dave, WIRED, 14 Mar. 2024
Becker – a ‘free spirit’ Becker hailed from Casper, Wyoming, Westminster police said.
—Daniella Segura, Sacramento Bee, 1 Feb. 2024
In the best Hollywood movies of the fifties, there’s a fury, a wildness, a violence (sometimes physical, principally emotional), a sense of resistance to a stifling or menacing order, a sympathy with the free spirit of youth and a view of its subjection to oppressive norms.
—Richard Brody, The New Yorker, 30 Oct. 2023
Mariam, now a conservative immigrant mom resented by her first-gen daughter, was once a free spirit herself, though there’s rarely any sense that Azra is the one learning this information.
—Siddhant Adlakha, Variety, 10 Mar. 2024
Alia is such a free spirit and has such a lovely, light energy.
—Maureen Lee Lenker, EW.com, 23 Feb. 2024
Andrew Blankstein, NBC News, 11 Mar. 2024
How to revive the free spirit of that frontier past?
—Conor Dougherty, New York Times, 9 Mar. 2024
Benny voices grave misgivings about the proposition, noting that Germany under Adolf Hitler is hardly a welcome environment for free spirits of any sort — and, worse, is particularly hostile to Jews like Harold.
—Joe Leydon, Variety, 15 Jan. 2024
As the weight of reaching a billion users pressed down on him, many staffers believe, Huffman began to lose some of that free spirit.
—Paresh Dave, WIRED, 14 Mar. 2024
Becker – a ‘free spirit’ Becker hailed from Casper, Wyoming, Westminster police said.
—Daniella Segura, Sacramento Bee, 1 Feb. 2024
In the best Hollywood movies of the fifties, there’s a fury, a wildness, a violence (sometimes physical, principally emotional), a sense of resistance to a stifling or menacing order, a sympathy with the free spirit of youth and a view of its subjection to oppressive norms.
—Richard Brody, The New Yorker, 30 Oct. 2023
Mariam, now a conservative immigrant mom resented by her first-gen daughter, was once a free spirit herself, though there’s rarely any sense that Azra is the one learning this information.
—Siddhant Adlakha, Variety, 10 Mar. 2024
Alia is such a free spirit and has such a lovely, light energy.
—Maureen Lee Lenker, EW.com, 23 Feb. 2024
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'free spirit.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Dictionary Entries Near free spirit
Cite this Entry
“Free spirit.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/free%20spirit. Accessed 18 Apr. 2024.
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