enfranchise

[ en-fran-chahyz ]
See synonyms for enfranchise on Thesaurus.com
verb (used with object),en·fran·chised, en·fran·chis·ing.
  1. to admit to citizenship, especially to the right of voting: By about 1860, most white men without property had been enfranchised.

  2. to give (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: The online forum enfranchises nurses, giving them a sense of belonging both to the profession and to the organization they work for.

  1. to set free; liberate, as from slavery or from some disabling constraint: Some ideologies enfranchise innovative creativity, while others suppress it.

  2. to endow (a city, constituency, etc.) with municipal or parliamentary rights.

  3. to grant a franchise to: The Chicago White Sox were enfranchised in Iowa in 1894, when the team was known as the Sioux City Cornhuskers.

  4. British. to give 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.

Origin of enfranchise

1
First recorded in 1505–15; from Middle French, Old French enfranchiss- (long stem of enfranchir “to free”), equivalent to en- en-1 + franch- “free” (see frank1) + iss- -ish2

Other words from enfranchise

  • en·fran·chise·ment [en-fran-chahyz-muhnt, -chiz-], /ɛnˈfræn tʃaɪz mənt, -tʃɪz-/, noun
  • en·fran·chis·er, noun
  • un·en·fran·chised, adjective

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

How to use enfranchise in a sentence

  • In half a dozen countries women are already completely enfranchised.

    What eight million women want | Rheta Childe Dorr
  • Some day the past would confront and denounce her, perhaps; but for the moment she was enfranchised anew of human society.

    The Cup of Fury | Rupert Hughes

British Dictionary definitions for enfranchise

enfranchise

/ (ɪnˈfræntʃaɪz) /


verb(tr)
  1. to grant the power of voting to, esp as a right of citizenship

  2. to liberate, as from servitude

  1. (in England) to invest (a town, city, etc) with the right to be represented in Parliament

  2. English law to convert (leasehold) to freehold

Derived forms of enfranchise

  • enfranchisement, noun
  • enfranchiser, noun

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012