empower

[em-pou-er]

See more synonyms for empower on Thesaurus.com

verb (used with object)

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.
to enable or permit: Wealth empowered him to live a comfortable life.

Origin of empower

First recorded in 1645–55; em-¹ + power

Related formsem·pow·er·ment, nounun·em·pow·ered, adjective

Synonyms for empower

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1. warrant, commission, license, qualify.

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Related Words for empowerment

acceptance, acknowledgment, license, admission, endorsement, agreement, dispensation, permit, privilege, approval, concession, warrant, recognition, okay, permission, consent, blessing, assent, go-ahead, clearance

Examples from the Web for empowerment

Contemporary Examples of empowerment

Yet for a vivid decade or so, sleaze was, somewhat paradoxically, a force for literacy and empowerment.
How Pulp Fiction Saved Literature
Wendy Smith
January 8, 2015
The mission is to teach any person to use technology for independence and empowerment no matter where they are located.
3-D Printing Is Changing the Future of Prosthetics
Lucy Vernasco
December 10, 2014
When A-LIFE began, Page was working on an education and empowerment project with young girls in Liberia.
Meet the Liberian Girls Beating Ebola
Abby Haglage
October 29, 2014
McChrystal argues that service confers empathy, patience, discipline, willingness to sacrifice, and a sense of empowerment.
It’s Time for Obama to Heed McChrystal’s Call for the ‘Service Year’
Jonathan Alter
June 23, 2014
Perry is a pop general, perched atop a candy rainbow, bathing her army of fans in an elixir of empowerment.
‘Prism’ Review: Katy Perry Perfects the Pop Blockbuster
Kevin Fallon
October 22, 2013

Historical Examples of empowerment

For the sake of its enrichment and its empowerment he subjected himself to rigorous disciplines.
Modern Religious Cults and Movements
Gaius Glenn Atkins
There is no higher form of empowerment than in the fulfillment of our individual possibilities.
The Civilization of Illiteracy
Mihai Nadin
Empowerment means to facilitate developments that maintain distinctions and result from differences, instead of uniformity.
The Civilization of Illiteracy
Mihai Nadin
Empowerment Zones have been creating these opportunities for five years now.
Complete State of the Union Addresses from 1790 to 2006
Various

British Dictionary definitions for empowerment

empowerment

noun

the giving or delegation of power or authority; authorization
the giving of an ability; enablement or permission
(in South Africa) a policy of providing special opportunities in employment, training, etc for Black people and others disadvantaged under apartheid

empower

verb (tr)

to give or delegate power or authority to; authorize
to give ability to; enable or permit

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for empowerment

empower

1650s, used by Milton, but the modern popularity dates from 1986; from en- (1) + power. Related: Empowered; empowering; empowerment.