emancipation
noun
eman·ci·pa·tion i-ˌman(t)-sə-ˈpā-shən 
: the act or process of emancipating
emancipationist
i-ˌman(t)-sə-ˈpā-sh(ə-)nist
noun 
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The Emancipation Proclamation, issued by Abraham Lincoln on January 1, 1863, ordered that enslaved people living in rebellious territories be released from the bonds of ownership and made free people—their own masters. Though the proclamation's initial impact was limited, the order was true to the etymology of emancipation, which comes from a Latin word combining the prefix e-, meaning "away," and mancipare, meaning "to transfer ownership of.”
Synonyms
- enfranchisement
- freeing
- liberation
- manumission
See all Synonyms & Antonyms 
Example Sentences
a book discussing the role that the emancipation of slaves played in the nation's history
Recent Examples on the Web According to court documents, Gaviola's son petitioned for emancipation in 2020 and obtained a domestic violence protection order against Gaviola in July 2021. 
Susan Szuch, USA TODAY, 3 Sep. 2022 Horace Greeley, editor of the New-York Tribune and one of America’s leading abolitionists, was quick to contrast the czar’s decisive emancipation with the inaction of the U.S. Frederic J. Frommer, Smithsonian Magazine, 30 Aug. 2022 Empowerment meets emancipation on the album’s 14 tracks, which find the singer expanding her range to include reggaeton and dembow, and declaring a sort of freedom from the confines of pop — and the path that got her there. Thania Garcia, Variety, 11 Aug. 2022 Apparently neither Lizzo nor Beyoncé was aware of Ian Dury’s artistry, bravery, and culture emancipation. Armond White, National Review, 3 Aug. 2022 Beyoncé’s smoldering, expansive vocal stylings invoke that emancipation. Deasia Paige, ELLE, 2 Aug. 2022 Skipwith was alive when the Republic was founded, and his life intersected with at least one signer of the Declaration of Independence, Benjamin Harrison V, who backed Skipwith’s 1785 legislation petition for emancipation. Philip Kennicott, Washington Post, 19 July 2022 The massive 1963 March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom, which gathered in the aftermath of brutal assaults on civil rights demonstrators in Birmingham, Ala., used the centennial of emancipation to protest entrenched racial inequality. Christopher Knight, Los Angeles Times, 28 July 2022 Live music, illustrious food and local vendors will transform the storied park into a place to celebrate the freedom of emancipation, something the park has done since it was founded by Houston's Black community leaders in 1872. Jay R. Jordan, Chron, 17 June 2022 See More
Susan Szuch, USA TODAY, 3 Sep. 2022 Horace Greeley, editor of the New-York Tribune and one of America’s leading abolitionists, was quick to contrast the czar’s decisive emancipation with the inaction of the U.S. Frederic J. Frommer, Smithsonian Magazine, 30 Aug. 2022 Empowerment meets emancipation on the album’s 14 tracks, which find the singer expanding her range to include reggaeton and dembow, and declaring a sort of freedom from the confines of pop — and the path that got her there. Thania Garcia, Variety, 11 Aug. 2022 Apparently neither Lizzo nor Beyoncé was aware of Ian Dury’s artistry, bravery, and culture emancipation. Armond White, National Review, 3 Aug. 2022 Beyoncé’s smoldering, expansive vocal stylings invoke that emancipation. Deasia Paige, ELLE, 2 Aug. 2022 Skipwith was alive when the Republic was founded, and his life intersected with at least one signer of the Declaration of Independence, Benjamin Harrison V, who backed Skipwith’s 1785 legislation petition for emancipation. Philip Kennicott, Washington Post, 19 July 2022 The massive 1963 March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom, which gathered in the aftermath of brutal assaults on civil rights demonstrators in Birmingham, Ala., used the centennial of emancipation to protest entrenched racial inequality. Christopher Knight, Los Angeles Times, 28 July 2022 Live music, illustrious food and local vendors will transform the storied park into a place to celebrate the freedom of emancipation, something the park has done since it was founded by Houston's Black community leaders in 1872. Jay R. Jordan, Chron, 17 June 2022 See More Word History
First Known Use
1631, in the meaning defined above
Phrases Containing emancipation
Kids Definition
emancipation
noun
eman·ci·pa·tion i-ˌman-sə-ˈpā-shən
: an act of setting someone free from control or slavery
Medical Definition
emancipation
noun
eman·ci·pa·tion i-ˌman(t)-sə-ˈpā-shən
: gradual separation of an original homogeneous embryo into fields with different specific potentialities for development
Legal Definition
emancipation
noun
eman·ci·pa·tion i-ˌman-sə-ˈpā-shən
: the act or process of emancipating
emancipation
noun
as in liberation
the act of setting free from slavery a book discussing the role that emancipation played in the nation's history Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
- liberation
- manumission
- freedom
- enfranchisement
- freeing
- salvation
- redemption
- deliverance
- independence
- independency
- liberty
- autonomy
- sovereignty
- sovranty
- self-government
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
- enslavement
- servitude
- bondage
- serfdom
- yoke
- imprisonment
- conquest
- thraldom
- subjugation
- incarceration
- captivity
- thralldom
- internment
- enchainment