1
as in emancipation
the act of setting free from slavery
the Emancipation Proclamation was merely the first step in the full enfranchisement of African-Americans
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Recent Examples of enfranchisement
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
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
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Last year, the president used the occasion not to remember emancipation but to complain that America had too many holidays.—
Thomas Chatterton Williams,
The Atlantic,
13 Feb. 2026
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Black History Month grew out of an effort to honor the most important people in the history of Black emancipation in the United States, according to the ASALH.—
Jalen Williams,
Freep.com,
31 Jan. 2026
Noun
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For one thing, Woolley is slow coming around on suffrage.—
Manuel Mendoza,
Dallas Morning News,
19 Feb. 2026
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The effort by the territory's Black business leaders fueled a national debate about Black suffrage, and eventually Congress outlawed any territory from denying voting rights to men on the basis of race.—
Anna Alejo,
CBS News,
6 Feb. 2026
Noun
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But Ukraine’s successes came to a halt after the liberation of Kherson in November 2022.—
Ivana Kottasová,
CNN Money,
20 Feb. 2026
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Pete finally got that answer in 2003 when Hana Moran located him and the two met a couple years later at the 60th anniversary of the Mauthausen Camp liberation.—
Denise Crosby,
Chicago Tribune,
18 Feb. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Enfranchisement.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/enfranchisement. Accessed 27 Feb. 2026.
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