enfranchisement

1
2
as in suffrage
the right to formally express one's position or will in an election a time when enfranchisement was limited to white males who owned property

Synonyms & Similar Words

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

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 enfranchisement And in the young republic, enfranchisement quickly expanded further, with perhaps 80 percent of adult white men—90 percent in some states—coming to hold the right to vote. Yoni Appelbaum, The Atlantic, 8 June 2026 Many claim that with the abolition of slavery and the enfranchisement of women, and many other new laws like civil rights legislation and changing gender norms, there has been great progress. Literary Hub, 12 Dec. 2025 In theory, this transition inaugurates a chapter of enfranchisement, but in the next scene the Senegalese businessmen are in suits, and the white men return with briefcases full of money as bribes. Lovia Gyarkye, IndieWire, 19 Aug. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for enfranchisement
Noun
  • My family’s recent history of migration—post-emancipation—influenced my desire to escape the United States shortly after the forty-fifth president was sworn into office.
    Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 27 July 2026
  • Most notable, the new exhibit emphasizes the emancipation provisions of Washington’s last will and testament.
    John Garrison Marks, The Atlantic, 25 July 2026
Noun
  • The Seneca Falls Convention began on July 19, 1848, a seminal moment for the women's suffrage movement.
    Karissa Waddick, USA Today, 17 July 2026
  • Wilson, played by understudy Merrill Peiffer on opening night, recurs as a comedic yet antagonizing force throughout the show, making a years-long series of excuses for not promoting women’s suffrage.
    Emily McClanathan, Chicago Tribune, 10 July 2026
Noun
  • Meanwhile, Uranus is the planet of disruption, innovation, liberation and the sudden developments that interrupt familiar patterns.
    Valerie Mesa, PEOPLE, 21 July 2026
  • Nelson Mandela served a single term and stepped down in 1999, on a continent where liberation leaders routinely became presidents for life.
    Michael Sonnenfeldt, Fortune, 19 July 2026

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Cite this Entry

“Enfranchisement.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/enfranchisement. Accessed 4 Aug. 2026.

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