to disfranchise
1
9.0
- verb
- /dɪsˈfrænˌtʃaɪz/
- Formal
:
privar del derecho al voto
- Many laws were passed to disfranchise African Americans during the Jim Crow era.
- black voters were disfranchised
Examples
-
By making the election a referendum on race, and then winning by a wide margin, Maryland Democrats established the political basis for a plan to disfranchise African Americans.
Academic text (2000) -
He litigated and broke the gerrymandering that had disfranchised the majority of Black voters in Tuskegee.
Academic text (2000) -
The United States has a history of disfranchising these voters.
Blog text (7) -
And this time, look more seriously at whether this law, if enforced for the upcoming election, will effectively disfranchise lots of voters.
Blog text (7) -
The law seeks to disfranchise primarily elderly and minority Democratic voters.
Blog text (7) -
Such cries only died down in the early 20th century when conservatives disfranchised black voters across the South.
Blog text (20) -
The amendment would, if ratified, disfranchise African Americans and profoundly alter the balance of power in state politics.
Academic text (2000) -
The Democratic Party's primary generally decided the victor in most elections; thus, denying blacks participation effectively disfranchised them if nothing else did.
Academic text (2007) -
The masses, despite "trickle down" benefits, remain essentially disfranchised, disaffected, and dissatisfied.
Academic text (1992) -
In the antebellum era, African Americans agitated for political rights in spite of a state law that required property in order to vote, virtually disfranchising all black men.
Academic text (2005)
Synonyms
43
8.8
To take away a person's right to vote or other citizenship rights
To take away someone's right or claim to something
Antonyms
How Enfranchised
Surface Forms
Morphology
disfranchise = franchise (semi-transparent) = dis + franchise
The negative prefix 'dis-' is productive and clearly marks negation, but the specific political meaning of 'franchise' ('the right to vote') is somewhat specialized and may not be known to all learners.
Etymology
Disfranchise comes from dis- ('remove') and franchise, from an old word for 'freedom' that is related to English free. So, to disfranchise someone is to take away their rights, often their right to vote.