emancipation
Americannoun
-
the act of freeing or state of being freed; liberation
-
informal freedom from inhibition and convention
Other Word Forms
- emancipationist noun
- nonemancipation noun
- preemancipation noun
- self-emancipation noun
Etymology
Origin of emancipation
First recorded in 1625–35; from Latin ēmancipātiōn-, stem of ēmancipātiō, from ēmancipāt(us) “freed from control” (past participle of ēmancipāre “to free from control”; emancipate ) + -iō -ion
Compare meaning
How does emancipation compare to similar and commonly confused words? Explore the most common comparisons:
Explanation
Emancipation is being set free from the control of someone or something. Your emancipation from your parents comes when you turn 18 and are legally considered an adult. The word appears most memorably in the Emancipation Proclamation, Abraham Lincoln's order of 1863 that freed enslaved people in the U.S. Emancipation can describe any kind of liberation: "If you're really chafing under the rigors of practicing for the upcoming game, you and your teammates can go on strike for emancipation from the grueling schedule your coach has decreed."
Vocabulary lists containing emancipation
Martin Luther King Jr.'s "I Have a Dream" Speech (1963)
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American History I
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Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.'s "I've Been to the Mountaintop" (1968)
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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.
The ad's originality lay in the fact it did not directly show off the product, but instead promised a new world of emancipation for consumers thanks to home computers.
From Barron's • Mar. 29, 2026
Mr. Pinsker attaches much importance to that effort, noting that it emboldened military enforcement of emancipation and Congressional support for black recruitment.
From The Wall Street Journal • Feb. 5, 2026
Most Spanish American republics had ended slavery or implemented gradual emancipation measures as early as 1811, with final abolition in place by the mid-1850s.
From Los Angeles Times • Jan. 4, 2026
Relentless in his campaign for emancipation and equal citizenship, Douglass secured his place as both a pillar of American democracy and an enduring emblem of black achievement.
From The Wall Street Journal • Oct. 24, 2025
His will ordered the emancipation of those enslaved people who belonged to him following Mrs. Washington’s death.
From "In the Shadow of Liberty" by Kenneth C. Davis
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.
