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
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
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 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
-
Philip Andrew Douglass, 42, was freed on bond after an initial appearance before U.S. Magistrate Judge David Keesler.—
Joe Marusak,
Charlotte Observer,
21 June 2025
-
Short of the savings being placed in a much bigger coffee can, government spending cuts born of efficiency, headcount reduction, mandate reduction, or all three would have just freed up money for Congress to spend in new ways.—
John Tamny,
Forbes.com,
21 June 2025
Verb
-
For every container of fireworks arriving at a U.S. port, importers must pay the tariff upfront, before customs even thinks about releasing the goods.—
Richard Howells,
Forbes.com,
27 June 2025
-
Lyons was released from Tottenham’s youth system at age 16 and fell into depression before dying by suicide 10 years later.—
Colin Millar,
New York Times,
27 June 2025
Verb
-
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
-
Two-and-a-half years after Abraham Lincoln’s Emancipation Proclamation, the enslaved people of Texas learned — via the victorious Union Army — that they were liberated.—
New York Daily News Editorial Board,
New York Daily News,
19 June 2025
Verb
-
For one prospective graduate student, an admission to Harvard’s Graduate School of Education had rescued her educational dreams.—
Sara Braun,
Fortune,
21 June 2025
-
In New Hampshire, the state says people may be required to pay back the costs to rescue them.—
Rong-Gong Lin II,
Los Angeles Times,
20 June 2025
Verb
-
This kept their traditions alive until their ancestors were emancipated in the 1860s.—
Ben Abrams,
NPR,
19 June 2025
-
Urging Lincoln to now issue an executive order for emancipating the slaves, Sumner was firmly rebuffed.—
Zaakir Tameez
June 11,
Literary Hub,
11 June 2025
Verb
-
Some other states specifically prohibit localities from enfranchising noncitizens.—
Jennifer Peltz,
Los Angeles Times,
20 Mar. 2025
-
Thus enfranchised, Hackman took on Richard Harris’ elegant killer English Bob with gusto, mixing in a bravura oratorical gavotte with ample kicks to the ribs, and summoning the Best Supporting Actor trophy.—
Fred Schruers,
IndieWire,
27 Feb. 2025
Verb
-
Sabalenka, one of the favorites to lift the Wimbledon title this year, had saved four match points in a tiebreak to escape 2022 champion Elena Rybakina the previous day, one of them coming via a fortunate net cord.—
James Hansen,
New York Times,
21 June 2025
-
Republicans in the Senate proposed zeroing out funding for the CFPB, the landmark agency set up in the aftermath of the 2008 financial crisis, to save $6.4 billion.—
Lisa Mascaro,
Los Angeles Times,
20 June 2025
Cite this Entry
“Manumit.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/manumit. Accessed 2 Jul. 2025.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share