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#Capital-"L" ''Liberal'' and small-"l" ''liberal'': In most countries, Capital-"L" ''Liberal'' is used to label the members of sympathizers of a [[Liberal Party]], while small-"l" ''liberal'' is used to label the adherents of liberalism. 
#Generally in Europe, the word ''liberal'' is used in mostly to refer to supporters of a broad tradition of individual liberties and limited government. In Northern European countries, as in the United States it refers to somebody who emphasizes individual liberty even outside economics and the free market, but it has generally nothing to do with the more general progressive political approach in connotes in the U.S. An exception is e,g, the use of the world "liberal" by [[Femke Halsema]], the leader of [[GroenLinks]] (the [[Netherlands|Dutch]] "Left Greens"). In France and in Southern Europe, the word is used either to refer to the traditional liberal anti-clericalism or to economic liberalism. In France the word is used by [[minarchism|minarchists]]; political liberalism in France was long associated more with the [[Radical Party (France)|Radical Party]], leading to the use of the term ''radicals'' to refer to political liberals. The French Radicals tend to be more statist then most European liberals, but share the liberal values on other issues. In France and in Southern Europe, the word "liberal" does not include the suggestion of general support for individual rights that it carries in Northern Europe. (''See [[Liberalism in Germany]], [[Liberalism in the Netherlands]]''.)
#Australia: In Australia the situation is complicated by the fact that the [[Liberal Party of Australia]] is a right-of-centre party encompassing thought from both conservative and classical liberal traditions (although [[as of 2004]] the conservative wing, represented by [[John Howard]], is dominant). The special term "small-l liberal" in Australia generally refers to someone who champions civil liberties and progressive causes such as [[Australian republicanism]] and [[Australian_Aborigines#Recent_history|Aboriginal reconciliation]], while maintaining a non-interventionist approach in economics. Some "small-l liberals", such as [[Malcolm Turnbull]] find a home among the Liberal Party, but many, such as [[Greg Barns]], have moved to the [[Australian Democrats|Democrats]].
#Canada: In Canada ''liberal'' refers mainly to the policies and ideas of the [[Liberal Party of Canada]], the most frequent governing party of Canada for the last century and one of the largest [[liberal parties]] around the world.
#New Zealand: In New Zealand the term "liberalism" refers to a support for individual liberties and limited government. The term generally used with a reference to a particular policy area, e.g. "market liberalism" or "social liberalism". Unqualified liberalism is less common; in its extreme form it is known as "libertarianism".
#Russia: The so-called [[Liberal Democratic Party of Russia]] is not at all "liberal": it is a [[nationalism|nationalist]], right-wing populist party. Russian liberals are organised into the [[Yabloko]] and [[Union of Right Forces]] parties.
#United Kingdom: In the UK, the word "liberalism" can have any of several meanings. Scholars still use the term to refer to ''classical liberalism''; The term also can mean ''economic liberalism'' or ''neoliberalism''; it can simply refer to the politics of the [[Liberal Democrats (UK)|Liberal Democrat]] party; it can have the imported U.S. meaning, including the derogatory usage by conservatives. However, the derogatory connotation is weaker in the UK than in the U.S., and social liberals from both the left- and right-wing continue to use "liberal" and "illiberal" to describe themselves and their opponents, respectively. (''See [[Liberalism in the United Kingdom]].'')
#In the United States, the common meaning of "liberal" has evolved over time. In the 19th century it denoted ''classical liberalism''. After [[World War II]], it came to refer to left-of center (but [[anti-Communism|anti-Communist]]) ''new liberalism''. As [[McCarthyism]] made the term "socialism" and even "social democracy" anathema in America, the former [[New Deal]]ers and others to the left of center adopted the name "liberal". To distinguish themselves from these, those in the U.S. who were closer to classical liberalism adopted the name "[[libertarianism|libertarian]]".  Recently (since approximately the [[Ronald Reagan|Reagan]] era), the word "liberal" has been so much used as a derogatory term by U.S. conservatives that much of the U.S. center-left now shuns even the word "liberal", calling themselves "[[Progressivism|progressives]]". (''See [[Liberalism in the United States]]''.)