emancipate

/ɪˈmænsɪpeɪt/
/ɪˈmænsɪpeɪt/
IPA guide

Other forms: emancipated; emancipating; emancipates

If you emancipate someone, you set them free from something. At the end of the Civil War, slaves were emancipated and became free men and women.

If you break down emancipate, you have e- "out," -man- from the Latin manus "hand," and -cip- from the Latin verb "to take." Put it together, and you have "to be taken out of someone's hands" — a good definition of freedom. The American Revolution was about colonists emancipating themselves from British rule. As a legal term, if a child is emancipated, he or she is declared independent from parental control.

Definitions of emancipate
  1. verb
    free from slavery or servitude
    synonyms: manumit
    see moresee less
    type of:
    liberate, set free
    grant freedom to
  2. verb
    give equal rights to; of women and minorities
    synonyms: liberate
    see moresee less
    type of:
    change state, turn
    undergo a transformation or a change of position or action
Cite this entry
Style:
MLA
  • MLA
  • APA
  • Chicago

Copy citation
DISCLAIMER: These example sentences appear in various news sources and books to reflect the usage of the word ‘emancipate'. Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Vocabulary.com or its editors. Send us feedback
Word Family

Vocabulary lists containing emancipate

view more about the vocabulary list
Brown Girl Dreaming
Jacqueline Woodson

In a series of autobiographical poems, Jacqueline Woodson vividly brings her childhood and adolescence to life. This memoir in verse won the National Book Award, the Coretta Scott King Award, and the Newbery Honor Award.

100 SAT Words Beginning with "E"

Find lists of SAT words organized by every letter of the alphabet here: A, B, C, D, E, F, G, H, I, J, K & L, M, N, O, P, Q, R, S, T, U, V, and W, X, Y & Z.

view more about the vocabulary list
Body Language: Man ("Hand")

Think you can handle this list of words that derive from the Latin manus, meaning "hand"? Then give yourself a hand! Want to dissect more English words related to anatomy? Here are links to our complete set of Body Language lists: Corp ("Body") / Capit, Capt ("Head") / Or, Os ("Mouth") / Dent, Dont ("Tooth") / Gastr, Gastro ("Stomach") / Neur ("Nerve") / Man ("Hand") / Ped, Pod ("Foot") / Derm ("Skin") / Carn ("Flesh") / Os, Osteo ("Bone") / Cor, Cord, Cardio ("Heart") / Psych ("Mind")

MORE VOCABULARY LISTS