disenfranchised

adjective

dis·​en·​fran·​chised ˌdis-in-ˈfran-ˌchīzd 

: deprived of some right, privilege, or immunity

Tough, resourceful, and determined to help her disenfranchised and disenchanted students learn how to learn and love it, Johnson employs a barrage of techniques.

—Donna Seaman

The National Alliance for the Mentally Ill does what it can, but the millions of mentally ill remain the least supported, the most disenfranchised, and the most excluded people in our society today.

—Oliver Sacks

especially : deprived of the right to vote

The value of the right to vote, however, given the reality of racial voting patterns, will depend on whether it translates into political power and influence for the previously disenfranchised minority.

—Alan Freeman

Examples of disenfranchised in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

The third novel from writer, activist, and founder of Black Girl Dangerous Mia McKenzie is a tender tale of a disenfranchised young woman coming into her own amid the Civil Rights Movement. —Shannon Carlin, Time, 22 May 2025

All birds look alike, thus preventing me from spotting the disenfranchised creature. —Jerry Shnay, Chicago Tribune, 19 May 2025

Centered on a single young man ricocheting between prison, hostels and the streets, the film makes no claims to represent an entire disenfranchised demographic, but there’s resonant human texture and political feeling in its close-up individual portrait. —Guy Lodge, Variety, 19 May 2025

Many disenfranchised subscribers left the program altogether and, as of February, WeightWatchers membership had declined by 12% from the previous year, according to its earnings report. —Theresa Braine, New York Daily News, 7 May 2025

Word History

First Known Use

1818, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for disenfranchised

• americanized
• anathematized
• collateralized
• contextualized
• conventionalized
• demilitarized
• demineralized
• departmentalized
• industrialised
• industrialized
• materialised
• materialized