libéré

Libéré is the past participle of the French verb liberer, meaning freed or released. It functions as an adjective describing someone or something that has been set free from confinement, danger, obligation, or restraint. In sentences, it agrees in gender and number with the subject (par exemple, il a été libéré; ils ont été libérés).

Compared with the adjective libre, libéré emphasizes the act of release rather than the general state of freedom. It is commonly used to describe a prisoner, patient, or detainee who has left captivity, as well as someone freed from an obligation or a constraint. The noun form un libéré is rare and typically found in specific contexts, such as a reference to a person who has been released, sometimes in legal or administrative language.

Etymology traces libéré to liberer, from Latin libertare, based on liber meaning free. The word shares its root with related terms such as libération (the act of freeing), libérateur (one who frees), and liberable (capable of being released). It is distinct from délivrer or délivré, which more often convey issuing or delivering something or freeing in a broader sense.

In popular culture, libéré appears in the feminine form libérée as widely known in the French title of Disney’s song Let It Go: "Libérée, délivrée." This usage reflects the standard gender agreement in French and highlights how participles can function as standalone descriptors in titles and phrases.

See also: liberer, libération, libérateur, délivrer, délivré.