free spirit

noun

plural free spirits

: a person who thinks and acts in an uninhibited way without worrying about normal social rules : nonconformist

Their daughter is a real free spirit.

Von der Becke thinks of himself now as a free spirit: a sort of drug-free, hard-working hippie.

—Tim Cahill

Here was a man of extraordinary sensitivity, political acumen, spiritual power, and sexual wildness; a free spirit if ever there was one.

—Alice Walker

free-spirited

ˈfrē-ˈspir-ə-təd 

adjective

Synonyms

• bohemian
• boho
• counterculturist
• deviant
• enfant terrible
• heretic
• iconoclast
• individualist
• lone ranger
• lone wolf
• loner
• maverick
• nonconformer
• nonconformist

Examples of free spirit in a Sentence

Their daughter is a real free spirit.

an artistically inclined free spirit who felt alienated and stifled while growing up in a small town

Recent Examples on the Web

But as an adventure-loving free spirit, Héra would much rather spend her days out in the wilderness with her horse instead of being saddled with royal responsibilities. —Charles Pulliam-Moore, The Verge, 11 Dec. 2024

The Emirates, in fairness, is perhaps not the ideal environment to hand such an attacking free spirit a first Premier League start. —Paul Taylor, The Athletic, 24 Nov. 2024

A couple of free spirits danced in the rain, sans ponchos, sweeping their legs through the puddles. —Sara Messinger, Vulture, 4 Oct. 2024

Watch on Deadline Seen in flashbacks mostly set in or around 1972, Sarah (Rothe) is a witty, free spirit from the big city with an ardent passion for activism, and trying to avoid the conventional/traditional life of a young woman in the ’70s. —Nellie Andreeva, Deadline, 23 Sep. 2024

Word History

First Known Use

1931, in the meaning defined above