Definitions
from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.
- transitive verb To supply with the means, knowledge, or opportunity (to do something); make able.
- transitive verb To make feasible or possible.
- transitive verb To give legal power, capacity, or sanction to.
- transitive verb To make operational; activate.
- transitive verb To behave in a manner that facilitates or supports (another's abusive, addictive, or self-destructive behavior).
from The Century Dictionary.
- To make able; furnish with adequate power, ability, means, or authority; render competent.
- To put in an efficient state or condition; endow; equip; fit out.
- Synonyms To empower, qualify, capacitate.
- To give ability or competency.
from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.
- transitive verb obsolete To give strength or ability to; to make firm and strong.
- transitive verb To make able (to do, or to be, something); to confer sufficient power upon; to furnish with means, opportunities, and the like; to render competent for; to empower; to endow.
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.
- verb To give strength or ability to; to make firm and strong.
- verb To make able (to do, or to be, something); to confer sufficient power upon; to
furnish with means, opportunities, and the like; to render competent for; toempower ; toendow . - verb To allow a way out or excuse for an action.
from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.
- verb render capable or able for some task
Etymologies
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License
Support

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Examples
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I understand your need for emphasis to sell, but using the word enable makes it seem like Joe hand-picked the boys for Sandusky.
Onward State: National Media Misses The Mark on Penn State Scandal
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I understand your need for emphasis to sell, but using the word enable makes it seem like Joe hand-picked the boys for Sandusky.
Onward State: National Media Misses The Mark on Penn State Scandal
-
I understand your need for emphasis to sell, but using the word enable makes it seem like Joe hand-picked the boys for Sandusky.
Onward State: National Media Misses The Mark on Penn State Scandal
-
I understand your need for emphasis to sell, but using the word enable makes it seem like Joe hand-picked the boys for Sandusky.
Onward State: National Media Misses The Mark on Penn State Scandal
-
I understand your need for emphasis to sell, but using the word enable makes it seem like Joe hand-picked the boys for Sandusky.
Onward State: National Media Misses The Mark on Penn State Scandal
-
I understand your need for emphasis to sell, but using the word enable makes it seem like Joe hand-picked the boys for Sandusky.
Onward State: National Media Misses The Mark on Penn State Scandal
-
I understand your need for emphasis to sell, but using the word enable makes it seem like Joe hand-picked the boys for Sandusky.
Onward State: National Media Misses The Mark on Penn State Scandal
-
I understand your need for emphasis to sell, but using the word enable makes it seem like Joe hand-picked the boys for Sandusky.
Onward State: National Media Misses The Mark on Penn State Scandal
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She says: The word enable can be contrasted with the word empower.
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She says: The word enable can be contrasted with the word empower.
Comments
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