Authoritarian vs. Liberal — What's the Difference?

Favouring or enforcing strict obedience to authority at the expense of personal freedom

Favoring reform, open to new ideas, and tolerant of the ideas and behavior of others; not bound by traditional thinking; broad-minded.

An authoritarian person.

Of, relating to, or characteristic of liberalism.

Characterized by or favoring absolute obedience to authority, as against individual freedom

Liberal Of, designating, or characteristic of a political party founded on or associated with principles of social and political liberalism, especially in Great Britain, Canada, and the United States.

Tending to tell other people what to do in a peremptory or arrogant manner.

Tending to give freely; generous

Of, or relating to, or exhibiting strict obedience to an authority; favoring authoritarianism over civic and individual liberties.

Generous in amount; ample

Demanding obedience to authority; marked by authoritarianism; dictatorial, tyrannical.

Not strict or literal; loose or approximate

Tending to impose one's demands upon others as if one were an authority.

Of, relating to, or based on the traditional arts and sciences of a college or university curriculum

One who commands absolute obedience to his or her authority.

(Archaic) Permissible or appropriate for a person of free birth; befitting a lady or gentleman.

One who follows and is excessively obedient to authority.

(Obsolete) Morally unrestrained; licentious.

Characteristic of an absolute ruler or absolute rule; having absolute sovereignty; - of governments or rulers; as, an authoritarian regime

A person with liberal ideas or opinions.

Expecting unquestioning obedience: "he was imperious and dictatorial"; "the timid child of authoritarian parents"; "insufferably overbearing behavior toward the waiter"

Liberal A member of a Liberal political party.

Behaves like a tyrant.

Pertaining to those arts and sciences the study of which is considered to provide general knowledge, as opposed to vocational/occupational, technical or mechanical training.

A person behaves in an tyrannical manner;

Generous; permitting liberty; willing to give unsparingly.

Characteristic of an absolute ruler or absolute rule; having absolute sovereignty;

Ample, abundant; generous in quantity.

Likened to a dictator in severity

(obsolete) Unrestrained, licentious.

Expecting unquestioning obedience;

Widely open to new ideas, willing to depart from established opinions or conventions; permissive.

(politics) Open to political or social changes and reforms associated with either classical or modern liberalism.

One with liberal views, supporting individual liberty (see Wikipedia's article on Liberalism).

(US) Someone with progressive or left-wing views; one with a left-wing ideology.

A supporter of any of several liberal parties.

(UK) One who favors individual voting rights, human and civil rights, and laissez-faire markets also called "classical liberal"; compare libertarian.

Free by birth; hence, befitting a freeman or gentleman; refined; noble; independent; free; not servile or mean; as, a liberal ancestry; a liberal spirit; liberal arts or studies.

Bestowing in a large and noble way, as a freeman; generous; bounteous; open-handed; as, a liberal giver.

Bestowed in a large way; hence, more than sufficient; abundant; bountiful; ample; profuse; as, a liberal gift; a liberal discharge of matter or of water.

Not strict or rigorous; not confined or restricted to the literal sense; free; as, a liberal translation of a classic, or a liberal construction of law or of language.

Not narrow or contracted in mind; not selfish; enlarged in spirit; catholic.

Free to excess; regardless of law or moral restraint; licentious.

Not bound by orthodox tenets or established forms in political or religious philosophy; independent in opinion; not conservative; friendly to great freedom in the constitution or administration of government; having tendency toward democratic or republican, as distinguished from monarchical or aristocratic, forms; as, liberal thinkers; liberal Christians; the Liberal party.

One who favors greater freedom in political or religious matters; an opponent of the established systems; a reformer; in English politics, a member of the Liberal party, so called. Cf. Whig.

A person who favors a political philosophy of progress and reform and the protection of civil liberties

A person who favors an economic theory of laissez-faire and self-regulating markets

Showing or characterized by broad-mindedness;

Having political or social views favoring reform and progress

Tolerant of change; not bound by authoritarianism, orthodoxy, or tradition

Given or giving freely;

Not literal;