Enfranchise

3 definitions found

From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48 [gcide]:

  Enfranchise \En*fran"chise\, v. t. [imp. & p. p. {Enfranchised};
     p. pr. & vb. n. {Enfranchising}.] [Pref. en- + franchise: cf.
     F. enfranchir.]
     1. To set free; to liberate from slavery, prison, or any
        binding power. --Bacon.
        [1913 Webster]


  
     2. To endow with a franchise; to incorporate into a body
        politic and thus to invest with civil and political
        privileges; to admit to the privileges of a freeman; to
        give the right to vote.
        [1913 Webster]
  
     3. To receive as denizens; to naturalize; as, to enfranchise
        foreign words. --I. Watts.
        [1913 Webster]

From WordNet (r) 2.0 [wn]:

  enfranchise
       v 1: grant freedom to; as from slavery or servitude; "Slaves were
            enfranchised in the mid-19th century" [syn: {affranchise}]
       2: grant voting rights [ant: {disenfranchise}]

From Moby Thesaurus II by Grady Ward, 1.0 [moby-thes]:

  32 Moby Thesaurus words for "enfranchise":
     affranchise, authorize, certificate, certify, charter, deliver,
     disenthrall, emancipate, empower, enable, entitle, extricate,
     franchise, free, give official sanction, give power, legalize,
     legitimize, liberate, license, manumit, patent, privilege, ratify,
     release, rescue, sanction, set at large, set at liberty, set free,
     validate, warrant