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

California needs to establish a transition plan to move forward, otherwise we’re left with the status quo, which means whole communities — often the most disenfranchised — are left behind. —Curtis V La Chusa, San Diego Union-Tribune, 3 Dec. 2025

The easy story of nails in America is that the economic opportunity gave the disenfranchised a new start. —Arabelle Sicardi, Allure, 9 Oct. 2025

Today, the Worth family home has been turned into a group home for disenfranchised teenagers and their counselors, caretakers and caregivers where Scary Farmers will visit on Halloween night. —Brady MacDonald, Oc Register, 16 Sep. 2025

Charlie was a symbol of MAGA to so many young people who felt disenfranchised. —NBC news, 14 Sep. 2025

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