as in to liberate
to set free (as from slavery or confinement)
in a way, modern labor-saving appliances enfranchised people, giving them much more leisure time
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Recent Examples of enfranchise
After the Third Reform Act of 1884, six of 10 adult Englishmen were enfranchised.
—
Geoffrey Wheatcroft, New York Times, 18 Jan. 2025
Millions were enfranchised when women got the vote in 1920, but Black women were mostly excluded from voting due to legal discrimination.
—JSTOR Daily, 18 Sep. 2024
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
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
Geoffrey Wheatcroft, New York Times, 18 Jan. 2025
Millions were enfranchised when women got the vote in 1920, but Black women were mostly excluded from voting due to legal discrimination.
—JSTOR Daily, 18 Sep. 2024
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
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
Recent Examples of Synonyms for enfranchise
Verb
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Another endangered fish, northern tidewater gobies, were rescued from the same watershed shortly before the steelhead were liberated.—
Lila Seidman,
Los Angeles Times,
22 Apr. 2025
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Just as my ancient and modern ancestors found freedom from oppression, so can each of us be liberated from today’s challenges by crafting a future built on deeds of lovingkindness.—
Maria Zimina,
New York Daily News,
20 Apr. 2025
Verb
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Four months into his second term, the sprint is on: SAB 121 is gone, freeing banks from punitive capital rules on digital‑asset custody; April’s bill scrapped the nightmare cost‑basis paperwork for DeFi; and the DOJ has shuttered its crypto task force, vowing to chase scammers, not software.—
Crypto Confidential,
Forbes.com,
21 Apr. 2025
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In the month following Hamas's October 7, 2023 attack and Hamas's seizing of hundreds of Israeli hostages, Francis had prayed they would soon be freed and called for dialogue.—
Josh Hammer,
MSNBC Newsweek,
21 Apr. 2025
Verb
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August reservations will be released on July 1 and so on.—
Eve Chen,
USA Today,
29 Apr. 2025
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No other information about the incident was released.—
David Matthews,
New York Daily News,
29 Apr. 2025
Verb
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And many Virginians who owned enslaved people were terrified that the British were going to emancipate their enslaved labor.—
Ari Daniel,
Smithsonian Magazine,
17 Apr. 2025
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Jefferson later maintained that any decision to emancipate slaves must be part of a democratic process and not handed down by, say, executive order.—
Faith Karimi,
CNN Money,
29 Mar. 2025
Verb
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To protect a batch of sea turtle eggs from possible poachers, the group rescued them and hatched them in a lab before releasing 100 baby sea turtles into the ocean.—
Terry Baddoo,
USA Today,
22 Apr. 2025
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Fire crews and police quickly rescued the single occupant of the vehicle, a man, as the vehicle and apartment caught fire.—
Ashley Fredde,
Idaho Statesman,
21 Apr. 2025
Verb
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Bobby manages to save Chimney, who falls ill and starts coughing up blood while responding to the lab blaze.—
Taijuan Moorman,
USA Today,
23 Apr. 2025
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Knowing which plants that are tricky to grow from seed will save you time, effort, and frustration Growing plants from seeds is a fun way to participate in the life cycle.—
Lauren David,
Southern Living,
22 Apr. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Enfranchise.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/enfranchise. Accessed 4 May. 2025.
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