disenfranchised

American  

[dis-en-fran-chahyzd] / ˌdɪs ɛnˈfræn tʃaɪzd /

Sometimes disfranchised

adjective

1. deprived of any of the rights or privileges of citizens, especially the right to vote.

   Given the illegal requirements reportedly imposed at some polling places, we can expect a lot of lawsuits from disenfranchised citizens.

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

   A session on LGBTQ literature provided concrete examples and professional resources to support this often disenfranchised group.

3. deprived of a legal or commercial franchise.

   A disenfranchised Noodles Only franchisee has opened up about his struggles operating in the town’s “business graveyard.”

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verb

1. the simple past tense and past participle of disenfranchise.

Other Word Forms

• nondisenfranchised adjective
• undisenfranchised adjective

Etymology

Origin of disenfranchised

First recorded in 1810–20; disenfranchise ( def. ) + -ed ² ( def. )

Explanation

The adjective disenfranchised describes a person or group of people who are stripped of their power, like disenfranchised post-Civil War African Americans who were deprived of their right to vote even after being freed from slavery. Being disenfranchised is no fun. The rules work against you, your rights are constantly violated, and you have little power to change your life for the better. The Old French word enfranchir means “to make free,” and when you add the negative prefix dis-, disenfranchised means “made unfree.” A disenfranchised population doesn’t rest easy, and often they organize and fight back against their condition to demand their basic rights and freedom.

Example Sentences

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

Her first album Horses was for the disenfranchised and the shunned.

From BBC • Nov. 4, 2025

Some voters in Zanzibar felt disenfranchised and said they would "leave that section blank" on the presidential ballot.

From Barron's • Oct. 24, 2025

At a moment when many District residents are seething with rage at the occupying forces taking over their disenfranchised hometown, watching Dunn release his anger via hoagie felt like a gift.

From Slate • Aug. 15, 2025

There was still no specific mention of African American women, who, along with African American men, would continue to be disenfranchised by state laws, especially in the South.

From "1919 The Year That Changed America" by Martin W. Sandler

Related Words

• defenseless
• helpless
• impotent
• incapable
• ineffective
• ineffectual
• inert
• paralyzed
• passive
• vulnerable
• weak