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To emancipate someone (including oneself) is to free them from restraint, control, or the power of another, and especially to free them from bondage or enslavement. It follows that the noun emancipation refers to the act or practice of emancipating. The Emancipation Proclamation issued by Abraham Lincoln on January 1, 1863, for example, ordered that enslaved people living in the Confederate states be released from the bonds of ownership and made free people. It took more than two years for news of the proclamation to reach the enslaved communities in the distant state of Texas. The arrival of the news on June 19 (of 1865) is now celebrated as a national holiday—Juneteenth or Emancipation Day.
Examples of emancipation in a Sentence
Lauren Schuster, Miami Herald, 29 Apr. 2026
Start with The National Mall & Lincoln Memorial, then go deep at the National Museum of African American History & Culture, which traces slavery, emancipation, the Civil Rights movement and Black achievement in sports, music, government and beyond.
—Lauren Schuster, Charlotte Observer, 29 Apr. 2026
Spend a half-day inside the National Museum of African American History & Culture, which traces slavery, emancipation, the Civil Rights movement and African American achievement across sports, music and government.
—Lauren Schuster, Kansas City Star, 28 Apr. 2026
The teen petitioned for emancipation from Gaviola and obtained a domestic violence protection order from the Fresno County Superior Court against her.
—Tim Fang, CBS News, 27 Apr. 2026
See All Example Sentences for emancipation
Cite this Entry
“Emancipation.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/emancipation. Accessed 6 May. 2026.
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emancipation
noun
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emancipation
noun
