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right to vote

right to vote

53 2.3
The legal permission to vote in an election
  • noun
  • Formal
translation icon : derecho al voto
  • I want to give women the right to vote.
  • women's right to vote
  • exercise the right to vote
  • deny the right to vote

Essential to make sure your right to vote still exists one year from now.

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Examples

  • Free elections include a basic civil right, the right to vote.

    Academic text (2004)
  • Significantly, this is the first time in Irish history that women are given the right to vote in parliamentary elections.

  • So why is the right to vote one of the ones that gets taken away?

  • The power of the right to vote was truly made available to everyone in America.

  • We have a right to vote.

  • But I'll tell you the right to vote in this country is under attack.

  • Non-violence got us our civil rights and our right to vote.

  • All citizens, regardless of race or creed, have the right to vote and be part of the government.

  • Lincoln wanted to give freed slaves citizenship, equal rights, and the right to vote.

  • Young people should exercise their right to vote as soon as they turn 18, she says.

Synonyms

vote
vsright to vote
370 1.0

Right to take part in choosing leaders or deciding important issues

is the legal entitlement to take part in elections
suffrage
vsright to vote
19 7.6

The right to vote in elections

is the neutral legal entitlement to participate in elections
voting right
vsright to vote
19 3.3

Official permission to vote in elections and group decisions

is the general legal entitlement to participate in elections
franchise
vsright to vote
  • Formal
15 6.6

The right to vote in public elections

is the more general legal entitlement not limited to statutory grants

Antonyms

64 4.2

A situation when someone is not allowed to join or take part in a group

9 9.3

Loss of the right to vote or take part in an organization

Surface Forms

right to vote singular

Morphology

right + to + vote

The meaning 'the legal entitlement to participate in elections' is directly and compositionally derived from 'right' (entitlement) + 'to' (linking infinitival/prepositional marker) + 'vote' (the act of voting). This is a common, literal construction in English and in many other languages, so a B1 learner who knows the constituent words will readily understand it.

Etymology

Right to vote comes from the simple idea that a right is something you are allowed to have and a vote is the act of showing your choice, like putting a token in a box or raising your hand. That's why the phrase means the legal ability 'to take part in choosing leaders' today.