enabling

[en-ey-bling]

adjective

Law.

1. conferring additional legal powers or capacities, especially by removing a barrier to action, suspending required permission, or relaxing oversight: enabling power.

   an enabling act;

   enabling power.

Word History and Origins

Origin of enabling¹

First recorded in 1670–80; enable + -ing ²

Example Sentences

More famously, Henry Ford established the assembly line, revolutionizing worker productivity and enabling higher wages through the Five Dollar Day.

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“We must be sure our assistance isn’t enabling these activities and assess whether these abuses mark a breakdown of institutions we rely on as partners.”

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He very much believes he’s doing right by Tulsa’s everyday people, a working-class community at the mercy of men like Donald Washberg and the capitalist power brokers silently enabling his political career.

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In these cases, the court has struck down statutory limits on the president’s ability to remove federal officials, enabling much greater presidential control.

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This includes allowing virtual attendance at court and enabling the documents in criminal cases to be signed and sent digitally.

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Related Words

• permissive