enfranchise

[ en-fran-chahyz ]

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.

3. to set free; liberate, as from slavery or from some disabling constraint:

   Some ideologies enfranchise innovative creativity, while others suppress it.

4. to endow (a city, constituency, etc.) with municipal or parliamentary rights.
5. 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.

6. 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.

enfranchise

/ ɪnˈfræntʃaɪz /

verb

1. to grant the power of voting to, esp as a right of citizenship
2. to liberate, as from servitude
3. (in England) to invest (a town, city, etc) with the right to be represented in Parliament
4. English law to convert (leasehold) to freehold

Derived Forms

• enˈfranchiser, noun
• enˈfranchisement, noun

Other Words From

• en·fran·chise·ment [en-, fran, -chahyz-m, uh, nt, -chiz-], noun
• en·fran·chis·er noun
• un·en·fran·chised adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of enfranchise¹

First recorded in 1505–15; from Middle French, Old French enfranchiss- (long stem of enfranchir “to free”), equivalent to en- en- ¹ + franch- “free” ( frank ¹ ) + iss- -ish ²

Example Sentences

Experts say, however, that leaving decisions on abortion care up to the states isn't as enfranchising a proposition as it sounds.

From Salon

On Thursday, Republicans said that the Washington, D.C. law was a gateway to a more sinister effort underway throughout the country to enfranchise people who should not be allowed to vote.

From New York Times

“I wanted to enfranchise all of these characters and have it be almost the Holy Family.”

From Salon

Chute writes about predatory capitalism from the vantage point of the Mainers who are the least enfranchised and most abandoned, “stressed to the breaking point,” she has written.

From New York Times

Biden’s new Pacific Strategy claimed to be built to defend sovereignty and freedom, yet its fulcrum was the least enfranchised place in the nation.

From New York Times