disenfranchise

American  

[dis-en-fran-chahyz] / ˌdɪs ɛnˈfræn tʃaɪz /

verb (used with object)

• disenfranchises,
  present (3rd person singular)
• disenfranchised,
  past participle,  past
• disenfranchising
  present participle

1. to deprive (a person) of a right or privilege of citizenship, especially the right to vote.

   This electoral law disenfranchises people in prison and on parole, but allows those on probation to vote.

2. to deprive of the rights or privileges of full participation in society or in any community or organization, especially of the opportunity to influence policy or make one’s voice heard.

   We are intentionally seeking to engage all employees in these discussions so as not to disenfranchise any social minority.

3. to deprive of a commercial or legal franchise.

   There’s been talk of disenfranchising the cricket team for violation of the league’s bylaws.

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disenfranchise British  

/ ˌdɪsɪnˈfræntʃɪzmənt, ˌdɪsɪnˈfræntʃaɪz /

verb

1. to deprive (a person) of the right to vote or other rights of citizenship

2. to deprive (a place) of the right to send representatives to an elected body

3. to deprive (a business concern, etc) of some privilege or right

4. to deprive (a person, place, etc) of any franchise or right

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Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• disenfranchisement
  noun
• disenfranchiser
  noun

Inflected Forms

Participles

• disenfranchising
  present
• disenfranchised
  past

Conjugated Forms

Present

• disenfranchise
  simple
• disenfranchises
  simple
• have disenfranchised
  perfect
• has disenfranchised
  perfect
• am disenfranchising
  progressive
• are disenfranchising
  progressive
• is disenfranchising
  progressive
• have been disenfranchising
  perfect progressive
• has been disenfranchising
  perfect progressive

Past

• disenfranchised
  simple
• had disenfranchised
  perfect
• was disenfranchising
  progressive
• were disenfranchising
  progressive
• had been disenfranchising
  perfect progressive

Future

• will disenfranchise
  simple
• will have disenfranchised
  perfect
• will be disenfranchising
  progressive
• will have been disenfranchising
  perfect progressive

Etymology

Origin of disenfranchise

First recorded in 1620–30; dis- ¹ + enfranchise

Explanation

Enfranchise means to give someone the right to vote. Disenfranchise means to take it away. The U.S. has a shameful history of disenfranchising African-American citizens through bogus laws and outright intimidation. Being disenfranchised can make you feel like you don't belong or that you have no power. When kids feel disenfranchised in school––when they feel like what they're being asked to learn doesn't matter, or that their teachers don't care about them, that whether they try or not they're going to fail––they stop learning.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

disenfranchise disenfranchises disenfranchised disenfranchising

Opposition MPs have criticised the delay, saying it would potentially disenfranchise millions of voters.

From BBC ● Jan. 24, 2026

It would disenfranchise vulnerable groups of people, she said — women, people with disabilities, communities of color and the elderly.

From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 9, 2025

“That exhibit, in and of itself, is no reason to strip the voters of Bridgeport of their rights and disenfranchise them.”

From Seattle Times ● Oct. 13, 2023

The lists could find their way into the hands of malicious actors and individual efforts to inspect the rolls could disenfranchise voters through intimidation or canceled registrations, state election officials and privacy advocates warned.

From Washington Times ● Oct. 4, 2023

They effectively discount any and all other means of acquiring knowledge, and totally disenfranchise individuals who cannot read.

From The Civilization of Illiteracy by Nadin, Mihai

Yates, from Crackington Haven, said she wanted the bank to "reconsider their policy" as she believed it "disenfranchises the rural population".

From BBC ● May 14, 2026

That’s just a misdemeanor, but it still disenfranchises Drouin.

From Seattle Times ● Apr. 25, 2023

This disenfranchises those who have paid for their crime.

From Washington Post ● Mar. 29, 2023

Raman and Krekorian have sharply criticized the map, saying it disenfranchises voters and needs to be reworked.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 29, 2021

No other country in the world disenfranchises people who are released from prison in a manner even remotely resembling the United States.

From "The New Jim Crow" by Michelle Alexander

Unlike deaths with associated rituals, road maps, and standards, those that are disenfranchised are complex, underacknowledged, and often isolating.

From Slate ● Jul. 19, 2026

Hungary said the law disenfranchised tens of thousands of ethnic Hungarians, who live mostly in Ukraine's westernmost region of Transcarpathia -- part of the former Kingdom of Hungary until the end of World War I.

From Barron's ● Apr. 28, 2026

“Hip-hop has become the global language of resistance — the musical form through which the dispossessed and disenfranchised articulate grievance and assert dignity,” Singh said.

From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 21, 2026

And lots of other audiences who feel disenfranchised would like to be reassured that their virtues are just that.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Mar. 13, 2026

What he did, on a small scale, showed me how important it is to empower the dispossessed and the disenfranchised in the wake of oppression.

From "Born a Crime: Stories from a South African Childhood" by Trevor Noah

Some voters confronted school staff and accused them of disenfranchising voters.

From Salon ● Aug. 5, 2024

It was not disenfranchising them, which is generous.

From Slate ● Feb. 5, 2024

The landmark 1965 law followed the Civil Rights Act and outlawed discriminatory voting practices such as literacy tests that were aimed at disenfranchising Black voters.

From Seattle Times ● Sep. 1, 2023

"In the last fifty years, a national consensus has emerged among the state legislatures against permanently disenfranchising those who have satisfied their judicially imposed sentences and thus repaid their debts to society," he wrote.

From Reuters ● Aug. 4, 2023

Perhaps he might be able to undertake this Great Widgerly disenfranchising case.

From Philistia by Allen, Grant