emancipation

noun

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

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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.

Synonyms of emancipation

• liberation

Examples of emancipation in a Sentence

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

Recent Examples on the Web

However, each secured their freedom through unique means — Rainey through purchase, Smalls through escape, and Murray through emancipation. —CBS News, 25 Apr. 2026

In all its efforts, the commission highlighted the idea that communication and information are essential resources for social, economic, and cultural emancipation and transformation. —Stijn Joye, Encyclopedia Britannica, 23 Apr. 2026

Jordan Chandler went on to attain legal emancipation from both of his parents. —Amelia McDonell-Parry, Rolling Stone, 22 Apr. 2026

As of the emancipation of Jews in Austria Hungary in 1867, Jews were allowed to move freely across the region. —Marcy Thompson, Scientific American, 16 Apr. 2026

Word History

First Known Use

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