enforce

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“
But people who have the responsibility to make, enforce, and interpret laws should never use their power to harm innocents just to keep their own power.

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Definitions (23)

Toggle American Heritage definitions American Heritage Dictionary (3)

  1. transitive verb To compel observance of or obedience to: enforce a law.
  2. transitive verb To impose (a kind of behavior, for example): enforce military discipline.
  3. transitive verb To give force to; reinforce: "enforces its plea with a description of the pains of hell” (Albert C. Baugh).

Toggle Century definitions Century Dictionary (15)

Toggle GNU Webster definitions GNU Webster's 1913 (3)

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Examples (12)

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This word has been looked up 66 times.

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Roget's II Roget's II: The New Thesaurus

Allen's Allen's Synonyms and Antonyms

Used in the same context Used in the Same Context

Used in the same contextWord Family

enforce:   enforcing ·  enforced ·  enforces
Roget's II: The New Thesaurus, Third Edition by the Editors of the American Heritage® Dictionary. Copyright © 2003, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

Etymologies (3)

Toggle American Heritage etymologies American Heritage Dictionary (1)

  1. Middle English enforcen, from Old French enforcier, to exert force, compel, and from enforcir, to strengthen : en-, causative pref.; see en-1 + force, strength; see force.

Toggle Century etymologies Century Dictionary (2)

  1. Formerly also inforce; from Middle English enforcen, enforsen, from Old French enforcer, enforcier (French enforcir), from Middle Latin infortiare, strengthen, from in- + fortiare, strengthen, from fortia (Old French force), strength, force: see force, and cf. afforce, deforce, efforce. Cf. effort.
  2. from enforce, v. Prop. force.
 

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/ɛnˈfoʊrs/
by American Heritage

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