free speech
/fɹiː ˈspiːtʃ/
Word Rarity
Uncommon
Frequency: Zipf frequency 4.78 in modern English
20
Scrabble Score
10
Letters
1
Syllables
7
Unique Chars
Meaning
noun
Freedom of speech; the ability or right to express one's opinions, particularly (strictly) the legal right to do so without the government forbidding it via laws, but also (loosely) the ability to do so without facing social repercussions, or one's employer firing one for it, or social media sites not hosting it on their platforms, etc.
Uncountable
Example Sentences
- "The most stringent protection of free speech would not protect a man in falsely shouting fire in a theater and causing a panic."
- "Section 8 (c) of the act has been erroneously referred to since its passage as a free-speech provision. Actually this section permits the employer to intimidate and coerce employees in the exercise of their rights guaranteed by the act. It is not a question of free speech at all. Giving the antiunion employer an unbridled right to condemn and deride the basic rights of employees to self-organization and collective bargaining is not free speech but a license to defeat the exercise of these fundamental rights."
- "The term free speech, which appears in this book's subtitle as well as in its text, is used more or less interchangeably with freedom of the press, freedom of speech, and freedom of expression to refer to all of the expressive rights guaranteed by the forty-five words of the First Amendment, as interpreted by the U.S. courts."
- "Using “free speech” as a cop-out is just as intellectually dishonest and just as morally bankrupt. […] Free speech is a bedrock value in this country. But it isn’t the only one. Like all values, it must be held in tension with others, such as equality, safety and robust democratic participation."
- "[…] shouting fire-panic-in-theatre is not free speech at all. It is an explosive, deadly action."
- "Saying certain things or posting fliers or writing in student or independent newspapers is not free speech but instead is sexual harassment or racial harassment."