as in to free
to set free (as from slavery or confinement)
though he was an outspoken defender of liberty, this son of Virginia did not manumit his own slaves until he was on his deathbed
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Recent Examples of manumit
Tubman’s father had been manumitted by his owner, but Brodess had inherited Tubman, hiring her and her siblings out to neighbors for seasonal work, whether trapping muskrats or clearing land.
—
Casey Cep, The New Yorker, 24 June 2024
Grant would manumit his one enslaved servant, William Jones, in 1859.
—Harold Holzer, WSJ, 1 Jan. 2024
In one county, not a single enslaved person was manumitted in 1859.
—John Reeves, Smithsonian Magazine, 5 Dec. 2023
No evidence exists to suggest Kirby Smith did manumit him.
—Cynthia Greenlee, Smithsonian Magazine, 10 Jan. 2023
Some states, like the state of Georgia, passed expulsion laws that required blacks who were manumitted to leave the state within a year of their emancipation.
—Tera W. Hunter, The Root, 15 May 2018
Casey Cep, The New Yorker, 24 June 2024
Grant would manumit his one enslaved servant, William Jones, in 1859.
—Harold Holzer, WSJ, 1 Jan. 2024
In one county, not a single enslaved person was manumitted in 1859.
—John Reeves, Smithsonian Magazine, 5 Dec. 2023
No evidence exists to suggest Kirby Smith did manumit him.
—Cynthia Greenlee, Smithsonian Magazine, 10 Jan. 2023
Some states, like the state of Georgia, passed expulsion laws that required blacks who were manumitted to leave the state within a year of their emancipation.
—Tera W. Hunter, The Root, 15 May 2018
Recent Examples of Synonyms for manumit
Verb
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Protests in Israel also resumed after a two-week pause during the Israel-Iran war, with demonstrators demanding a deal that would free the hostages still in Gaza.—
Miranda Jeyaretnam,
Time,
30 June 2025
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But the pending Senate bill keeps the door wide open, effectively freeing very wealthy business owners from any cap on their SALT deductions.—
Howard Gleckman,
Forbes.com,
30 June 2025
Verb
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New information is being released about a gruesome alligator attack in Florida last month.—
Natalie Neysa Alund,
USA Today,
27 June 2025
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All Building 1 tenants will be released from their leases without penalty, according to the email, which included information about nearby apartment communities that will waive fees for those who wish to move.—
Fousia Abdullahi,
Fort Worth Star-Telegram,
27 June 2025
Verb
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Their freedom came more than two years after President Abraham Lincoln liberated slaves in the Confederacy by signing the Emancipation Proclamation during the Civil War.—
Ani Freedman,
Fortune,
20 June 2025
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Despite the temperamental British weather (gray skies and gooseflesh are a seasonal hazard) most of the 40 or 50 bodies at this summer celebration are duly liberated.—
Maureen O'Hare,
CNN Money,
19 June 2025
Verb
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Another group, Project Dynamo, which had rescued Americans evacuating Afghanistan in 2021, used its connections to fly a group of touring veterans from Israel to Miami.—
David Lyons,
Sun Sentinel,
30 June 2025
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In return, prosecutors alleged, Madigan used his influence over the General Assembly to help ComEd score a series of huge legislative victories that not only rescued the company from financial instability but led to record-breaking, billion-dollar profits.—
Jason Meisner,
Chicago Tribune,
30 June 2025
Verb
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The South American liberation leader Simón Bolívar emancipated the slave laborers who worked on his family’s estate—unlike George Washington and Thomas Jefferson.—
Carolina A. Miranda,
The Atlantic,
30 June 2025
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Kate Hudson considered being emancipated from her parents, Goldie Hawn and Bill Hudson, to better her Hollywood career.—
Janelle Ash,
FOXNews.com,
28 June 2025
Verb
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About a year after the infirmary team returned to the United States, the 19th Amendment became law, enfranchising 27 million women, the largest expansion of voting rights in American history.—
Amy Sohn,
Smithsonian Magazine,
27 June 2025
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Some other states specifically prohibit localities from enfranchising noncitizens.—
Jennifer Peltz,
Los Angeles Times,
20 Mar. 2025
Verb
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According to The Vail Daily, volunteer rescuers across Colorado responded to at least four missions during June to save dogs.—
Owen Clarke,
Outside Online,
1 July 2025
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In the year 2025, when an ex-Packers great in Aaron Rodgers is trying to save Pittsburgh, this kind of a blockbuster swap would only be fitting.—
Evan Massey,
MSNBC Newsweek,
1 July 2025
Cite this Entry
“Manumit.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/manumit. Accessed 8 Jul. 2025.
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