emancipation

1 of 2

noun (1)

eman·​ci·​pa·​tion i-ˌman(t)-sə-ˈpā-shən 

: the act or process of emancipating

emancipationist

i-ˌman(t)-sə-ˈpā-sh(ə-)nist 

noun

emancipationist

2 of 2

noun (2)

eman·​ci·​pa·​tion·​ist -sh(ə)nə̇st 

plural -s

: an advocate of emancipation

Did you know?

To emancipate someone (including oneself) is to free them from restraint, control, or the power of another, and especially to free them from bondage or enslavement. It follows that the noun emancipation refers to the act or practice of emancipating. The Emancipation Proclamation issued by Abraham Lincoln on January 1, 1863, for example, ordered that enslaved people living in the Confederate states be released from the bonds of ownership and made free people. It took more than two years for news of the proclamation to reach the enslaved communities in the distant state of Texas. The arrival of the news on June 19 (of 1865) is now celebrated as a national holiday—Juneteenth or Emancipation Day.

Synonyms of emancipation

Noun (1)

• liberation

Examples of emancipation in a Sentence

Noun (1)

a book discussing the role that the emancipation of slaves played in the nation's history

Recent Examples on the Web

Noun

Understanding Caribbean history For Bousquet, the debate over reparations remains tied to how the Caribbean understands its own history, including slavery’s abolition and emancipation. — Jacqueline Charles, Miami Herald, 1 Aug. 2026

By intimidating Black voters and galvanizing white Democrats who sought to undo the results of the Civil War, this violence served to effectively kill Reconstruction and the tangible promises of Black emancipation. — Jacob Ware, The Conversation, 31 July 2026

Tracing the arc of American history, the Urban League describes Black Americans’ struggle for emancipation from slavery and equal economic and political rights as a gruesome but optimistic part of the American story. — Matt Brown, Fortune, 30 July 2026

My family’s recent history of migration—post-emancipation—influenced my desire to escape the United States shortly after the forty-fifth president was sworn into office. — Literary Hub, 27 July 2026

Word History

First Known Use

Noun (1)

1631, in the meaning defined above

Phrases Containing emancipation

• self-emancipation

Rhymes for emancipation

• abbreviation
• abomination
• acceleration
• accentuation
• accommodation
• accreditation
• acculturation
• accumulation
• acetylation
• adjudication
• administration
• adulteration

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Medical Definition

emancipation

noun

eman·​ci·​pa·​tion i-ˌman(t)-sə-ˈpā-shən 

: gradual separation of an original homogeneous embryo into fields with different specific potentialities for development

Legal Definition

emancipation

noun

eman·​ci·​pa·​tion i-ˌman-sə-ˈpā-shən 

: the act or process of emancipating