Synonym Chooser

How does the verb emancipate differ from other similar words?

Some common synonyms of emancipate are free, liberate, manumit, and release. While all these words mean "to set loose from restraint or constraint," emancipate implies the liberation of a person from subjection or domination.

labor-saving devices emancipated us from household drudgery

When might free be a better fit than emancipate?

While the synonyms free and emancipate are close in meaning, free implies a usually permanent removal from whatever binds, confines, entangles, or oppresses.

freed the animals from their cages

In what contexts can liberate take the place of emancipate?

The meanings of liberate and emancipate largely overlap; however, liberate stresses particularly the resulting state of liberty.

liberated their country from the tyrant

When could manumit be used to replace emancipate?

The words manumit and emancipate are synonyms, but do differ in nuance. Specifically, manumit implies emancipation from slavery.

the document manumitted the slaves

When would release be a good substitute for emancipate?

In some situations, the words release and emancipate are roughly equivalent. However, release suggests a setting loose from confinement, restraint, or a state of pressure or tension, often without implication of permanent liberation.

released his anger on a punching bag

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of emancipate Some of the cattle roaming the marsh are rumored to be the feral descendants of herds emancipated two decades ago by Hurricane Katrina, which made landfall about five miles upriver. Nathaniel Rich, Harpers Magazine, 20 Aug. 2025 The federal government's few attempts to transition the recently emancipated into the postwar economy were inadequate, historians believe. Andrea Riquier, USA Today, 8 Aug. 2025 Creators could become emancipated from their platofrms, and communities develop not just social but real currencies. Boaz Sobrado, Forbes.com, 6 Aug. 2025 Abolitionists, farmers, emancipated Blacks, mechanics, prohibitionists, and populists all used fusion voting during the 19th century to make sure that their voices were heard by their fellow citizens as well as the leaders of this vast, diverse nation. Josh Hammer, MSNBC Newsweek, 8 July 2025 See All Example Sentences for emancipate
Recent Examples of Synonyms for emancipate
Verb
  • But liberating humans from work would also mean liberating them from their paychecks.
    Billy Perrigo, Time, 9 Oct. 2025
  • Steve Buckley argues that Maye has liberated the Patriots from their past with that scintillating win over the Bills on Sunday.
    Chris Branch, New York Times, 7 Oct. 2025
Verb
  • If space is limited, move the hamper to a nearby hallway or bedroom closet to free up visual space.
    Mary Cornetta, Better Homes & Gardens, 11 Oct. 2025
  • Aligned on the right edge, Burns expertly worked a stunt with Abdul Carter that freed him up to dump Hurts for an 8-yard loss.
    Dan Duggan, New York Times, 11 Oct. 2025
Verb
  • This and that Four Dolphins who were released by the team in August had workouts or visits elsewhere on Friday.
    Barry Jackson, Miami Herald, 12 Oct. 2025
  • Though the administration has released batches of files to the House Oversight Committee, Democrats point out that most of the information provided to the committee had already been public knowledge.
    Rachel Schilke, The Washington Examiner, 11 Oct. 2025
Verb
  • Over the course of the war, more than 150 hostages were freed during ceasefires, either in the first two or the current one, and more than a half dozen were rescued during Israeli operations in Gaza, The Washington Post noted.
    Jared Gans, The Hill, 14 Oct. 2025
  • Meanwhile Oakland County first responders had to rescue a deer that made it to the median of Interstate 75 and then couldn't escape.
    Sarah Moore, Freep.com, 14 Oct. 2025
Verb
  • Open primaries would enfranchise more than a million New York voters, who are disproportionately young and represent communities of color.
    John Avlon, New York Daily News, 7 July 2025
  • About a year after the infirmary team returned to the United States, the 19th Amendment became law, enfranchising 27 million women, the largest expansion of voting rights in American history.
    Amy Sohn, Smithsonian Magazine, 27 June 2025
Verb
  • Just this summer, in June, the board approved moving seventh- and eighth-grade students from yellow school buses to the Metro in a move that saves CPS almost $3 million per year.
    Grace Tucker, Cincinnati Enquirer, 15 Oct. 2025
  • That is, aside from the hijinks of Trump trying to kill his unborn baby to save his nights at Mar-a-Lago.
    Kevin Dolak, HollywoodReporter, 15 Oct. 2025
Verb
  • McMahon is prepared to loosen even more rules on the money.
    Megan O’Matz, ProPublica, 8 Oct. 2025
  • Something in the earth seemed to loosen its grip.
    Hazlitt, Hazlitt, 8 Oct. 2025
Verb
  • Tubman’s father had been manumitted by his owner, but Brodess had inherited Tubman, hiring her and her siblings out to neighbors for seasonal work, whether trapping muskrats or clearing land.
    Casey Cep, The New Yorker, 24 June 2024
  • Grant would manumit his one enslaved servant, William Jones, in 1859.
    Harold Holzer, WSJ, 1 Jan. 2024

Browse Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Emancipate.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/emancipate. Accessed 16 Oct. 2025.

More from Merriam-Webster on emancipate

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
Love words? Need even more definitions?

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