disenfranchised

adjective

dis·​en·​fran·​chised ˌdis-in-ˈfran-ˌchīzd How to pronounce disenfranchised (audio)
: 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
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Many disenfranchised subscribers left the program altogether and, as of February, WeightWatchers membership had declined by 12% from the previous year, according to its earnings report. Theresa Braine, New York Daily News, 7 May 2025 The result is a system in which people are delegitimized, disenfranchised, and potentially deported—even after doing everything the federal government has asked of them. Karen Tumlin, Time, 6 May 2025 Eradicating the safety in calling attention to specific groups of people being hurt or disenfranchised–whether health disparities, workplace opportunity or any other quality of life cornerstone–assumes that equality already exists. Sheila Callaham, Forbes, 18 Mar. 2025 Balochistan’s population – made up mostly of the ethnic Baloch group – is deeply disenfranchised, impoverished, and has been growing increasingly alienated from the federal government by decades of policies widely seen as discriminatory. Sophia Saifi, CNN, 12 Mar. 2025 See All Example Sentences for disenfranchised

Word History

First Known Use

1818, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of disenfranchised was in 1818

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Cite this Entry

“Disenfranchised.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/disenfranchised. Accessed 24 May. 2025.

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