enfranchise

verb

en·​fran·​chise in-ˈfran-ˌchīz How to pronounce enfranchise (audio)
en-
enfranchised; enfranchising

transitive verb

1
: to set free (as from slavery)
2
: to endow with a franchise: such as
a
: to admit to the privileges of a citizen and especially to the right of suffrage
b
: to admit (a municipality) to political privileges or rights
enfranchisement noun

Examples of enfranchise in a Sentence

in a way, modern labor-saving appliances enfranchised people, giving them much more leisure time
Recent Examples on the Web
These examples are automatically compiled from online sources to illustrate current usage. Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Comprehensively enfranchising migrants as urban citizens could lead to severe backlash from the urban elites—the constituency with which the CCP most closely aligns. Damien Ma, Foreign Affairs, 25 Aug. 2015 In 1972, after the Twenty-sixth Amendment lowered the voting age from twenty-one to eighteen, some twenty-five million additional Americans were enfranchised in time for the Presidential election. E. Tammy Kim, The New Yorker, 27 June 2024 But as long as China refuses to enfranchise the general public to monitor administrative measures, upper-level bureaucratic actors will continue to be foiled in their efforts by their subordinates. Yanzhong Huang, Foreign Affairs, 1 Nov. 2011 The Fifteenth Amendment enfranchised Black men, implicitly creating a bloc of voters to counterbalance the power of former Confederates in the South. Jelani Cobb, The New Yorker, 14 Jan. 2024 See all Example Sentences for enfranchise 

Word History

Etymology

Middle English, from Anglo-French enfranchiss-, stem of enfranchir, from en- + franc free — more at frank

First Known Use

15th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Time Traveler
The first known use of enfranchise was in the 15th century

Dictionary Entries Near enfranchise

Cite this Entry

“Enfranchise.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/enfranchise. Accessed 6 Nov. 2024.

Kids Definition

enfranchise

verb
en·​fran·​chise in-ˈfran-ˌchīz How to pronounce enfranchise (audio)
enfranchised; enfranchising
1
: to set free (as from slavery)
2
: to give full privileges of citizenship to
especially : to give the right to vote
enfranchisement noun

Legal Definition

enfranchise

transitive verb
en·​fran·​chise in-ˈfran-ˌchīz How to pronounce enfranchise (audio)
enfranchised; enfranchising
: to grant franchise to
especially : to admit to the privileges of a citizen and especially to voting rights
the Twenty-sixth Amendment enfranchised all citizens over 18 years of age
compare emancipate

More from Merriam-Webster on enfranchise

Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!