a member of the English political party or grouping that opposed the succession to the throne of James, Duke of York, in 1679–80 on the grounds that he was a Catholic. Standing for a limited monarchy, the Whigs represented the great aristocracy and the moneyed middle class for the next 80 years. In the late 18th and early 19th centuries the Whigs represented the desires of industrialists and Dissenters for political and social reform. The Whigs provided the core of the Liberal Party

(in the US) a supporter of the War of American Independence

a member of the American political party that opposed the Democrats from about 1834 to 1855 and represented propertied and professional interests

a conservative member of the Liberal Party in Great Britain

a person who advocates and believes in an unrestricted laissez-faire economy

a 17th-century Scottish Presbyterian, esp one in rebellion against the Crown

of, characteristic of, or relating to Whigs

a member of a political party in England (fl. 18th to mid-19th cent.) which championed reform and parliamentary rights: it later became the Liberal Party

in the American Revolution, a person who opposed continued allegiance to Great Britain and supported the Revolution

a member of an American political party (c. 1834-56) opposing the Democratic Party and advocating protection of industry and limitation of the power of the executive branch of government

one who propounds or subscribes to a Whig interpretation of history

of or characteristic of Whigs

of or designating historical interpretation which finds in events an uninterrupted line of progress against reactionary forces and often regards the present as a natural and inevitable result of the past