free-associate v associate freely Usage(s) He does not make a habit of going on TV to pontificate, free-associate or share his feelings. Ask any Frenchman to free-associate: he automatically recites, "Liberte, Egalite, Fraternite. The letters that Roth-Tarnopol-Zuckerman scribble may appear to free-associate like a Lenny Bruce monologue.