enable
Americanverb (used with object)
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enables,
present (3rd person singular)
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enabled,
past participle, past
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enabling
present participle
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to make able; give power, means, competence, or ability to: Students with vision impairments are enabled in the classroom with magnifiers and screen reader software.
This document will enable him to pass through the enemy lines unmolested.
Students with vision impairments are enabled in the classroom with magnifiers and screen reader software.
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to make possible or easy.
Aeronautics enables us to overcome great distances.
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to encourage or support (the bad or dysfunctional behavior) of (someone): You enable drug users when you shield them from the consequences of their actions.
The university enabled years of abuse by ignoring complaints against the coach.
You enable drug users when you shield them from the consequences of their actions.
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Digital Technology.
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to make (a device, system, or feature) active or functional; turn on.
The automatic snapshot feature is enabled by default.
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to equip for an extended, peripheral, or premium use.
to enable your laptop for wireless internet access.
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verb
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to provide (someone) with adequate power, means, opportunity, or authority (to do something)
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to make possible
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to put (a digital electronic circuit element) into an operative condition by supplying a suitable input pulse
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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enablesimple
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enablessimple
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have enabledperfect
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has enabledperfect
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am enablingprogressive
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are enablingprogressive
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is enablingprogressive
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have been enablingperfect progressive
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has been enablingperfect progressive
Past
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enabledsimple
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had enabledperfect
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was enablingprogressive
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were enablingprogressive
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had been enablingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of enable
First recorded in 1375–1425; Middle English; see en- 1, able
Explanation
When you make something possible, you enable it. Your good grades might enable you to get into your first-choice college. And a great teacher enabled you to get such good grades. Enable has taken on the meaning of allowing or even helping someone continue to do something they really shouldn't. If your mother writes note after note to get you out of school for no good reason, she is enabling your habit of playing hooky. While you might think she's being cool, a therapist might call her an enabler and give her part of the blame.
Vocabulary lists containing enable
Vocabulary from "Community is the 'killer app' missing from virtual reality" by Dmitri Williams
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Vocabulary from the Second Presidential Debate: October 9, 2016
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Unit 1: Ecological Systems
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
Taiwan has been boosting defence spending for years and acquiring smaller and more nimble weaponry, including drones, to enable its military to wage asymmetric warfare against China.
From Barron's ● Aug. 17, 2026
According to interviews and internal emails reviewed by ProPublica, career staffers at the Justice Department warned that transferring voter rolls to HSI to enable it to search for noncitizen voters could violate federal privacy laws.
From Salon ● Aug. 15, 2026
A new White House report says more than 40 countries enable Chinese exporters to evade U.S. tariffs through illegal transshipment.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 14, 2026
The regulator, Ofwat, said the extra spending would enable the firms to support growth and better environmental outcomes, and ensure important upgrades were not delayed.
From BBC ● Aug. 13, 2026
“And what did you put between the two wheels to enable the top one to turn around?” he asked.
From "The (Mostly) True Story of Cleopatra's Needle" by Dan Gutman
"It has formed the underlying ecosystem that enables many people to build their developments on top of Unitree," he told AFP.
From Barron's ● Aug. 19, 2026
"This now enables the German police to go after these people," he says.
From BBC ● Aug. 18, 2026
"It's this combination that enables a very high memory storage density that requires very little power."
From Science Daily ● Aug. 17, 2026
“This emergency declaration enables the City to act swiftly in reducing wildfire risks while continuing our balanced approach that protects both public safety and vulnerable community members.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 14, 2026
Study after study around the world has shown that singing enables infants to train their brains and memories, to recognise pitch differentiation as a preparation for the full development of spatial awareness.
From "The Story of Music" by Howard Goodall
“By combining Apple silicon, on-device processing, privacy, operating systems, personal context, and a vast installed base, Ternus could cement Apple’s device dominance in an AI enabled era,” Mohan wrote.
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 20, 2026
While the exhibit is enabled by the entwined ubiquity of the English language and the internet, the artists know these technologies aren’t transparent.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 20, 2026
“This decision will result in carriers that are enabled by battle-tested steam and hydraulic systems that are more resilient and robust than the present, more exquisite, follow-on systems,” the White House said in a statement.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 13, 2026
They formed an essential part of the survival strategies that enabled people to live in some of the harshest environments on Earth.
From Science Daily ● Aug. 10, 2026
What exactly was it that enabled seventeenth- and eighteenth-century science to make progress in a way that previous systems of knowledge could not?
From "The Invention of Science" by David Wootton
He maintains that ServiceNow is fundamentally different because it is a platform company, acting as a control tower astride legacy systems, enabling AI models to interact securely across enterprise workflows.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 21, 2026
He said his firefighters have "very specialist skills" to tackle wildfires with military assistance enabling him to "focus all of that in the right place".
From BBC ● Aug. 16, 2026
Their conversation explores characters who hide their true nature behind carefully constructed personas, the role of technology in enabling obsession and revenge, and the social rituals that define contemporary London.
From Slate ● Aug. 15, 2026
"Great effort went into straightening rivers to harness them for our use, but also into enabling agriculture by draining the wetlands."
From Barron's ● Aug. 13, 2026
Then, according to the handed-down story, McLane managed to somehow deliver the codebook to Admiral de Grasse, enabling him to foresee British maneuvers and win the sea battle.
From "George Washington, Spymaster" by Thomas B. Allen
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
