empower
Americanverb (used with object)
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empowers,
present (3rd person singular)
-
empowered,
past participle, past
-
empowering
present participle
-
to give power or authority to; authorize, especially by legal or official means.
I empowered my agent to make the deal for me. The local ordinance empowers the board of health to close unsanitary restaurants.
- Synonyms:
- qualify, license, commission, warrant
-
to enable or permit.
Wealth empowered him to live a comfortable life.
verb
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to give or delegate power or authority to; authorize
-
to give ability to; enable or permit
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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empowersimple
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empowerssimple
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have empoweredperfect
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has empoweredperfect
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am empoweringprogressive
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are empoweringprogressive
-
is empoweringprogressive
-
have been empoweringperfect progressive
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has been empoweringperfect progressive
Past
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empoweredsimple
-
had empoweredperfect
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was empoweringprogressive
-
were empoweringprogressive
-
had been empoweringperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of empower
Explanation
Empower means "give power or authority to." When you educate children and believe in them, you empower those kids to go after their dreams. Empower might seem like a new word, but it's been around since the 17th century. Today, empower often refers to helping someone realize their abilities and potential, perhaps for the first time. For example, in the 1960s, when women felt like second-class citizens, the women's movement empowered them to stand up and demand their equal rights.
Vocabulary lists containing empower
Unit 3: Compelling Evidence
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Michelle Obama's final address as First Lady (2017)
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"Hip-Hop as Culture" and "I Am Somebody"
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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:
He announced the launch of “Smithsonian Cares,” a digital resource that would “provide tools and guidance to empower and inspire conversations about diversity, equity, access and inclusion.”
From Salon ● Sep. 25, 2026
Though he started his business career making clothes, Jimmy moved to media because he wanted to empower Hong Kong’s people with an American-style free press.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 21, 2026
"It must ensure that proportionate age restrictions go hand-in-hand with robust safety measures so that digital environments both protect and empower children, by design and default," they wrote.
From Barron's ● Sep. 8, 2026
These include stronger drone defences and plans to empower security services to strike back against attackers at home and abroad, for example by hacking their computer servers.
From BBC ● Aug. 25, 2026
If I wanted to empower people, to make them feel included and seen, this definitely wasn’t the right way.
From "From Twinkle, with Love" by Sandhya Menon
Pusateri added that the company, which is currently reviewing Apple's complaint, is "focused on building innovative technology that empowers people everywhere."
From BBC ● Jul. 10, 2026
"We have no interest in other companies' trade secrets. We remain focused on building innovative technology that empowers people everywhere," an OpenAI spokesperson said.
From Barron's ● Jul. 10, 2026
“We remain focused on building innovative technology that empowers people everywhere.”
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 10, 2026
But read carefully, the MOU commits Iran to charging no tolls “for 60 days only” and empowers it “to define the future administration and maritime services in the Strait” in dialogue with Oman.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 6, 2026
Today, art historians like to say that Les Demoiselles empowers viewers, which is what they say about the Mona Lisa too—they mean that both paintings are open to interpretation.
From "The Mona Lisa Vanishes" by Nicholas Day
The county is empowered by statute to investigate and prosecute violations of the Unfair Competition Law on behalf of California residents and to seek restitution, civil penalties and injunctive relief for any violations.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 8, 2026
According to Harris, Boulder’s “entire thesis” depended on the idea that the “mere fact of having injuries” empowered it to regulate “worldwide conduct.”
From Slate ● Oct. 5, 2026
When it was time to take a stand for Black people, he didn’t ask for permission, because he was already empowered to do so.
From Salon ● Sep. 29, 2026
Plus, the stakes with a personal agent are elevated because agents are empowered to buy products, set appointments and book travel by themselves—all of which could cost users money if the agent errs.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 22, 2026
But I just stood there in my B-boy stance, empowered by strains of “The Bridge Is Over” running through my head, until I felt like the message had gotten across.
From "The Other Wes Moore: One Name, Two Fates" by Wes Moore
"I'm showing and empowering other women to do it," she says.
From BBC ● Sep. 29, 2026
When the internet helped pry open the door on prices decades ago, all that information initially gave shoppers an empowering edge.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 23, 2026
“And I think it’s very empowering, and I’m so happy to see my work on the wall at the Getty.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 9, 2026
An empowering message isn’t one that recommends the opposite of long-standing guidance.
From Slate ● Aug. 27, 2026
He is getting the intellectual property from these three applications, said Juster, and they are empowering him to start a company with very little money.
From "The World Is Flat" by Thomas L. Friedman
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.
