emancipation

American  

[ih-man-suh-pey-shuhn] / ɪˌmæn səˈpeɪ ʃən /

noun

1. the act of emancipating.

2. the state or fact of being emancipated. emancipated.

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emancipation British  

/ ɪˌmænsɪˈpeɪʃən /

noun

1. the act of freeing or state of being freed; liberation

2. informal freedom from inhibition and convention

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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:

• manumission vs. emancipation

Example Sentences

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

Maybe it’s the emancipation of women in the last 50 years.

From Los Angeles Times

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

Less attention has been paid to the ways in which enslaved people strove for emancipation through acts of resistance.

From The Wall Street Journal

A pragmatic realist, he stopped short of calling for immediate emancipation, which he knew was unacceptable to most American voters.

From The Wall Street Journal

Related Words

• independence
• liberation