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Showing results for enfranchisement. Search instead for franchisement.
Synonyms

enfranchisement

American  
[en-fran-chahyz-muhnt, -chiz-] / ɛnˈfræn tʃaɪz mənt, -tʃɪz- /

noun

  1. admission to citizenship, especially to the right of voting.

    Their government introduced land reform and female enfranchisement in the early 1960s.

  2. the act of giving a person or group the rights or privileges of full participation in society or in any community or organization, especially the opportunity to influence policy or make their voice heard.

    We are starting to see the end of long-standing barriers to the full enfranchisement of people of color in the business world.

  3. the act of liberating or freeing someone or something, as from slavery or from some disabling constraint.

    To some, the Reformation was the enfranchisement of the individual from bondage to corrupt religious tradition.

  4. the act of endowing a city, constituency, etc., with municipal rights or the right to be represented in parliament.

    The enfranchisement of towns in the 11th century was the fruit of a war declared by urban populations against their lords.

  5. the act of granting a franchise to an individual, group, or company to own and operate a business, major-league sports team, or public utility.

    The enfranchisement of lawyer Joe Robbie and actor Danny Thomas in 1965 made the Miami Dolphins the ninth team in the AFL.

  6. British. a legal process giving the tenant of a leasehold the right to purchase freehold of the property or to extend the lease, often up to the end of life.

    Enfranchisement will be refused where the property stands on land which is held inalienably by the landlord.


Etymology

Origin of enfranchisement

First recorded in 1570–80; enfranchise ( def. ) + -ment ( def. )

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.

“We still started a conversation about teen enfranchisement, and I think that’s really valuable regardless of outcome,” she said.

From Los Angeles Times • Nov. 11, 2022

But Francis also noted that the school system was “promoted by the governmental authorities at the time” as part of a policy of assimilation and enfranchisement, in which “local Catholic institutions had a part.”

From Seattle Times • Jul. 27, 2022

When you talk with people about full enfranchisement for Black Americans that conversation usually starts in 1965 with the Voting Rights Act.

From Salon • Feb. 27, 2022

The Voting Rights Act set off a wave of enfranchisement of Black citizens, with more than 250,000 registering to vote before the end of 1965.

From New York Times • Dec. 29, 2021

I was nine years ago honored with the choice of Congress, to command an army into Canada, and never have I ceased to enjoy the prospect of its enfranchisement.

From The Diplomatic Correspondence of the American Revolution, Volume X (of 12) by Various