emancipated
Americanadjective
-
not constrained or restricted by custom, tradition, superstition, etc..
a modern, emancipated woman.
-
freed, as from slavery or bondage.
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of emancipated
First recorded in 1720–30; emancipate + -ed 2
Explanation
When you graduate from high school, you're emancipated from the confines of school. Emancipated means "free from restraints." When someone is set free from traditional restrictions, the kinds of limitations that society puts on a person, that person can be described as emancipated. A classic example of this is a woman who has escaped societal expectations of what women should do to live the life she chooses, or a member of a minority group who has become emancipated to achieve equality within his society. Emancipated can also describe a person who has turned 18 and is no longer a minor — old enough to be treated as an adult and not legally controlled by his or her parents.
Vocabulary lists containing emancipated
What to the Slave is the Fourth of July?
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Turtles All the Way Down
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The Rise and Fall of Charles Lindbergh
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
For Pontormo, who studied with Leonardo da Vinci and was influenced by Michelangelo and Dürer, it’s the painting that shows him stylistically emancipated from those giants.
From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 27, 2026
Her third great-grandfather Dean Harris was likely born into slavery in Georgia around 1835 and was emancipated after the Civil War.
From Salon • Feb. 7, 2024
In it, Linda, a character meant to represent the newly emancipated woman, states, “I love Medea more than Creusa,” the latter being the princess for whom Jason leaves Medea.
From Los Angeles Times • Dec. 13, 2023
“The German musical has emancipated itself from its American role models in a clever, mature and very Berlin way,” the paper’s critic, Hellmut Kotschenreuther, wrote.
From New York Times • Dec. 8, 2023
“None with whom the Picketts have a good relationship. Davis has been declared an emancipated minor by the state and is his brother’s legal guardian.”
From "Turtles All the Way Down" by John Green
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
