TransWikia.com

Meaning of “liberties taken with the word”

English Language Learners Asked on January 21, 2021

I can’t even guess the meaning of the words ‘liberties taken with the word‘ in the last sentence. Could anyone explain it?

Within Frost’s Multidimensional Perfectionism Scale (FMPS), researchers and the general public alike commonly see personal standards (PS) and organization (O) as positive forms of perfectionism.

(….)

Organization is arguably not even a part of perfectionism. Not all researchers agree with the liberties taken with the word.

(From ‘How to Be an Imperfectionist’ by Stephen Guise)

One Answer

Lexico "take liberties"

1 Behave in an unduly familiar manner toward a person.
you've taken too many liberties with me

2 Treat something freely, without strict faithfulness to the facts or to an original.
The scriptwriter has taken few liberties with the original narrative

The word "liberty" means freedom. To take liberties with is to act too freely toward someone or something, The sense of
Not all researchers agree with the liberties taken with the word.
is
Some researchers think that the word has been used too freely, in a way not faithful to its original meaning.

Note that if you are dealing with an idiom, some dictionaries may have a definition for it in its simplest form. The definition above was found by looking at "onelook.com" for "take liberties".

Correct answer by Jack O'Flaherty on January 21, 2021

Add your own answers!

Ask a Question

Get help from others!

© 2024 TransWikia.com. All rights reserved. Sites we Love: PCI Database, UKBizDB, Menu Kuliner, Sharing RPP