empowerment
Britishnoun
-
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
Explanation
Empowerment is the power granted by one person or institution to another. The government can grant empowerment to a department to effect change, or a person can grant empowerment to her lawyer to sign contracts on her behalf. In the US of the 1950s and 60s, there were a number of groups that sought empowerment against oppression. Some of these included the Civil Rights Movement, led by a number of powerful members including Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. During this period, César Chávez worked for the rights of Latinos and farm workers. There were a number of other empowerment movements as well, each working to gain power for an oppressed group.
Vocabulary lists containing empowerment
President Trump's Second State of the Union Address (2019)
Looking to grow your vocabulary? Check out this interactive, curated word list from our team of English language specialists at Vocabulary.com – one of over 17,000 lists we've built to help learners worldwide!
Peace Corps Lingo
Interested in learning more words like this one? Our team at Vocabulary.com has got you covered! You can review flashcards, quiz yourself, practice spelling, and more – and it's all completely free to use!
Where Wolves Don't Die
Want to remember this word for good? Start your learning journey today with our library of interactive, themed word lists built by the experts at Vocabulary.com – we'll help you make the most of your study time!
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.
For York and Sacagawea, the expedition offered, briefly, agency and empowerment, only for these to disappear as they returned east.
From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 16, 2026
Aoibh said she sees the play as a call for change and empowerment in County Tyrone and beyond.
From BBC • Apr. 9, 2026
Proton VPN stands out from its competitors as a privacy-first VPN service that emphasizes transparency, technical rigor and user empowerment.
From Salon • Mar. 21, 2026
“Their work was always about more than crops. It was about empowerment and survival. Bloom Ranch embodies that legacy, honoring and applying practices like Carver’s crop rotation and soil health techniques.”
From Los Angeles Times • Feb. 27, 2026
Soon after arriving in Durham, Fuller explained his passionate belief that empowerment was necessary because “there are other kinds of poverty too, in addition to economic deprivation.”
From "The Best of Enemies" by Osha Gray Davidson
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.
