Definition

1. Noun:
   • A lifestyle characterized by self-indulgence and the pursuit of pleasure: "Free living" refers to a way of life that is not constrained by strict rules, often involving the easy gratification of one's desires and appetites, especially in terms of physical pleasures, leisure, and consumption.

Usage

• The term "free living" is typically used in a descriptive or sometimes critical context to discuss a person's lifestyle choices. It often carries connotations of hedonism, lack of restraint, or a rejection of conventional, disciplined living. It is a noun phrase and is not commonly used as a verb or adjective in this form.

Examples

• Noun:
  • After inheriting the fortune, he abandoned his career for a life of free living.
  • The memoir detailed her years of free living in the city before she settled down.
  • Some philosophers criticized the era's free living as morally empty.

Advanced Usage

• "To indulge in free living": to actively engage in a hedonistic lifestyle.
  • In his youth, he was known to indulge in free living.
• Often used in contrast with terms like "asceticism," "restraint," or "a disciplined life."

Variants and Related Words

• Free-liver (noun): A person who lives a life of free living; a hedonist.
  • He was known as a notorious free-liver.
• Free-living (adjective, biology): An unrelated scientific term describing an organism that is not parasitic and lives independently. (e.g., ).
• Libertine (noun): A person, especially a man, who behaves without moral principles or a sense of responsibility, particularly in sexual matters; a synonym for a dissolute free-liver.

Synonyms

• Dissipation: Overindulgence in sensual pleasures; intemperate living.
• Hedonism: The pursuit of pleasure; sensual self-indulgence.
• Debauchery: Excessive indulgence in sensual pleasures.
• Profligacy: Reckless extravagance or wastefulness in the use of resources, often in the context of lifestyle.
• Sybaritism: Dedication to luxury and pleasure (from the ancient city of Sybaris).

Antonyms

• Asceticism: Severe self-discipline and avoidance of all forms of indulgence, typically for religious or spiritual reasons.
• Abstinence: The practice of restraining oneself from indulging in something, typically alcohol or other physical pleasures.
• Temperance: Moderation or self-restraint, especially in eating and drinking.
• Sobriety: The state of being sober; not drunk. Also used figuratively for a serious, restrained lifestyle.

Related Idioms and Phrases

• "Live it up": To enjoy oneself in a lively, extravagant, or hedonistic way.
  • After their exams, the students decided to live it up for a week.
• "Wine, women, and song": A phrase summarizing a lifestyle devoted to hedonistic pleasures (often used historically with a masculine connotation).
  • His retirement was not quiet but was devoted to wine, women, and song.
• "Eat, drink, and be merry": An idiom encouraging the enjoyment of life's physical pleasures.
  • His philosophy was simple: eat, drink, and be merry, for tomorrow we die.

Noun

1. a lifestyle given to easy indulgence of the appetites