English vocabulary · C1
Emancipate
/ɪˈmæn.sɪ.peɪt/ · v.
It means to set someone free from control or rules that limit them. When you emancipate someone, you remove the power others had over them.
Watch the Emancipate lessonContinue in the learning app for video lessons and review.
Example sentences
- The new law emancipated workers from unfair contracts.
- She emancipated herself from her family's strict rules.
Word origin and roots
from Latin
- e — out (from Latin)
- man — hand (from Latin)
Synonyms and nuances
- FREE — remove limits or controls (General & Everyday)
- LIBERATE — set free from oppression (Formal & Powerful)
- RELEASE — let go from a held position (Physical & Immediate)
Words with the same root
man — hand
- manual — done by hand; a book of instructions
- manuscript — a document written by hand
- manacle — a metal ring locked around a wrist
Lesson notes
Emancipate. It means to set someone free from control or rules that limit them. When you emancipate someone, you remove the power others had over them.
Similar words are free, liberate, and release. Use emancipate when someone breaks away from a long-term system of control.
The new law emancipated workers from unfair contracts. She emancipated herself from her family's strict rules.
From Latin. e- means out. man- means hand. To take someone out of another person's hands — that is emancipate.