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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.
Examples of emancipation in a Sentence
Vann R. Newkirk Ii, The Atlantic, 19 June 2026
These sites — recognized or not — should remind Floridians that Juneteenth’s celebration only marks the beginning of emancipation.
—Orlando Sentinel Editorial Board, The Orlando Sentinel, 19 June 2026
Though rooted in Texas history, Juneteenth is now widely observed as a celebration of emancipation and Black freedom.
—Christina Ray Stanton, New York Daily News, 19 June 2026
Barriere grew up observing the emancipation day in Houston and Western Louisiana, where Juneteenth parties were ubiquitous.
—Sheeka Sanahori - For The Ajc, AJC.com, 19 June 2026
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Cite this Entry
“Emancipation.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/emancipation. Accessed 23 Jun. 2026.
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emancipation
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emancipation
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