disenfranchised

adjective

dis·​en·​fran·​chised ˌdis-in-ˈfran-ˌchīzd 

: deprived of some right, privilege, or immunity

Tough, resourceful, and determined to help her disenfranchised and disenchanted students learn how to learn and love it, Johnson employs a barrage of techniques.

—Donna Seaman

The National Alliance for the Mentally Ill does what it can, but the millions of mentally ill remain the least supported, the most disenfranchised, and the most excluded people in our society today.

—Oliver Sacks

especially : deprived of the right to vote

The value of the right to vote, however, given the reality of racial voting patterns, will depend on whether it translates into political power and influence for the previously disenfranchised minority.

—Alan Freeman

Examples of disenfranchised in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Every American ought to want to see policies that improve the health of those most disenfranchised and dependent. —Arthur Caplan, Hartford Courant, 25 Mar. 2026

Psychiatric rehabilitation practices could improve the extent to which they are culturally tailored and centered on serving the most vulnerable and disenfranchised populations. —Adrienne Lapidos, The Conversation, 18 Mar. 2026

Others can better explain his remarkable journey to make America better for the disenfranchised, and his zeal to help create a true rainbow of inclusion. —Rick Davis, CNN Money, 27 Feb. 2026

Long known for his activism and political influence, Jackson spent his life dedicated to pursuing civil rights for disenfranchised groups both in the United States and abroad. —Zoe Christen Jones, CBS News, 17 Feb. 2026

Word History

First Known Use

1818, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for disenfranchised

• americanized
• anathematized
• collateralized
• contextualized
• conventionalized
• demilitarized
• demineralized
• departmentalized
• industrialised
• industrialized
• materialised
• materialized