emancipated

IPA/ɪˈmænsɪpeɪtɪd/
KK[ɪmˈænsəpˌetɪd]IPA/ɪˈmænsɪpeɪtɪd/

emancipated — adjective

  • emancipatedpositive
  • more emancipatedcomparative
  • most emancipatedsuperlative

1. No longer held back by older social or political rules, especially ones that lim

1.adjectiveC2
Definition

No longer held back by older social or political rules, especially ones that limit how people live or think.

Example

After college, Greta felt emancipated from the rules of her hometown.

feel emancipated from + old expectations

The article praised an emancipated generation that questioned old marriage customs.

Common collocations
  • emancipated family
  • emancipated generation
  • emancipated citizens
  • socially emancipated
Synonyms
  • liberated

    close in meaning, but often sounds more dramatic or political

  • progressive

    often focuses on ideas or policy rather than a person's social condition

  • free-thinking

    stresses independent ideas more than broader social status

  • independent

    broader term for not relying on others, not specifically freedom from old restraints

Antonyms

Grammar Patterns

an emancipated + family / generation / society

feel emancipated from + old expectations

Usage Note

Usually describes people, families, or societies after they have broken away from older control or expectations. Unlike the verb senses, it describes the resulting state rather than the act of granting freedom.

Common Mistakes

I am emancipated this afternoon, so let's meet.
I am free this afternoon, so let's meet.
'emancipated' suggests release from deeper social or political restraint, not simple availability.

emancipated — verb

Word family

Synonym discussion

Sense: adjective/1

'Emancipated' usually describes a person or group that is no longer kept in place by older social, political, or family rules. 'Liberated' is close, but it often sounds more dramatic and can suggest a struggle or a clear act of release. 'Independent' is broader and often focuses on managing life without relying on others, not specifically on escaping old restraints. 'Progressive' is usually about ideas, policy, or public attitudes rather than someone's personal condition. 'Free-thinking' narrows the idea even more, stressing a person's willingness to form ideas without following convention. You might describe an emancipated family or an emancipated generation, but a free-thinking student or a progressive law.

emancipated ↗liberated ↗independent ↗progressive ↗free-thinking ↗

Common collocations

Nouns

Adverbs

Phrases

  • be emancipated by court order
  • be emancipated from old restraints
  • socially emancipated family

Prepositions

  • from + control / restraint / parental authority

Etymology

LatinEnglish

This word comes from the verb 'emancipate', which English borrowed from Latin 'emancipare'. In Roman law, that verb referred to releasing someone from another person's legal authority. Modern English kept the idea of formal freedom, and the word is still often used for social, political, or legal release rather than for small everyday freedoms.

First known use

1613

1613, in the meaning defined at sense 1