enfranchisement

Definition of enfranchisementnext
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 The years leading up to the creation of the Freedman’s Memorial saw the full enfranchisement of Black men—and then the dimming of this vision. Jake Lundberg, The Atlantic, 23 Apr. 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
  • Almost all the land was in the hands of oligarchic families or in the hands of mosques, the mosque endowments, and at the emancipation of women, giving women the right to vote.
    Fiction Non Fiction, Literary Hub, 7 May 2026
  • The National Mall and Lincoln Memorial anchor an outdoor collection of monuments, while the National Museum of African American History & Culture traces slavery, emancipation, the Civil Rights movement and African American achievement in sports, music and government.
    Lauren Schuster, Miami Herald, 29 Apr. 2026
Noun
  • Some events the quilters chose to highlight are the Boston Tea Party, Emancipation Proclamation, Wounded Knee, women’s suffrage, Chinese railroad workers, desegregation, the Flint Strike and student protests.
    Nollyanne Delacruz, Mercury News, 14 Apr. 2026
  • Another installation will tell the story of women's history through shoes, from the suffrage movement of the early 1900s to the heyday of Hollywood.
    Jane Levere, Travel + Leisure, 10 Apr. 2026
Noun
  • Distilled to vocals, guitar, bass, piano and drums as Perry sheds a lifetime of weight, the song ends on a single, resonant power chord — a sonic declaration of liberation.
    Pamela Chelin, Los Angeles Times, 7 May 2026
  • This visionary work captures a yearning for liberation through a sensory-rich experience that is both local and universally poetic.
    Matthew Carey, Deadline, 7 May 2026

Browse Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Enfranchisement.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/enfranchisement. Accessed 15 May. 2026.

More from Merriam-Webster on enfranchisement

Love words? Need even more definitions?

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

More from Merriam-Webster