Synonyms of emancipate

emancipate

verb

i-ˈman(t)-sə-ˌpāt 

as in to liberate

to set free (as from slavery or confinement)

under the cover of darkness animal rights activists emancipated the inhabitants of the mink ranch

Synonyms & Similar Words

• liberate
• free
• release
• rescue
• save
• enfranchise
• loosen
• unbind
• manumit
• enlarge
• unfetter
• unchain
• loose
• discharge
• turn loose
• spring
• uncage
• disenthrall
• redeem
• extricate
• disengage
• ransom
• bail (out)
• parole
• disentangle
• deliver
• disencumber
• unshackle
• disembarrass

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• restrain
• confine
• bind
• fetter
• shackle
• enchain
• jail
• imprison
• commit
• handcuff
• incarcerate
• enslave
• subjugate
• lock (up)
• conquer
• subdue
• intern
• manacle
• trammel
• immure

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

Recent Examples of emancipate

Nev, who’s now 17 and emancipated, returns to Avan Island. —Mary Ann Grossmann, Twin Cities, 21 Sep. 2025

Escape, betrayal and onward to Freedom Quarles self-emancipated in 1842 on the same day this country celebrates its independence — July 4. —La Risa R. Lynch, jsonline.com, 17 Sep. 2025

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