Enfranchise
What it means
To give a person or group legal rights, especially the right to vote.
Reach for it when describing a formal expansion of civic participation
The amendment will enfranchise citizens previously denied a ballot.
Words to choose between 6
| everyday | |
|---|---|
| warm | |
| professional | |
| formal |
|
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everyday
give the vote to
Fits when electoral rights should be stated plainly
Careful The phrase is limited to voting and omits other civic privileges.
-
everyday
Fits when access to participation is the useful result
Careful Inclusion can be informal and does not establish an enforceable right.
-
warm
give a voice
Fits when accessible language stresses participation
Careful Having a voice can mean consultation without an actual vote or decision power.
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professional
Fits when practical authority and capacity increase
Careful Empower can be rhetorical and need not change anyone's legal rights.
-
formal
admit to citizenship
Fits when full membership in a state is the precise act
Careful Citizenship includes far more than voting and may already exist before enfranchisement.
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formal
Fits when release from legal or social control is central
Careful Emancipation can occur without conferring political participation.
Opposites 4
- disenfranchise
- exclude
- disqualify
- silence
Common phrases 3
-
enfranchise citizens
The reform will enfranchise citizens living abroad.
-
fully enfranchise
The new rules fully enfranchise members who work part-time.
-
seek to enfranchise
Campaigners seek to enfranchise every adult resident.
Definitions and examples are written for this site. How words are chosen Recording: Commander Keane, Australian accent, from Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0 Updated