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:
For example, items ordered online and picked up in store parking lots are counted as e-commerce sales, he said, so increasingly stores are a digital-fulfillment node that enable speedy delivery.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 20, 2026
That should enable the government to sign deals with contractors that it would be much harder for a future government to cancel.
From BBC ● Aug. 19, 2026
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
These detectives admitted to hiding in closets and under beds, posing as ANC members, perpetrating virtually any deception that would enable them to get information about our organization.
From "Long Walk to Freedom" by Nelson Mandela
"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
Straddling different segments of the gas sector often enables companies to reduce costs and capture a larger share of profits realized at different stages of the fuel supply chain, the analysts said.
From The Wall Street Journal ● 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
It enables him to travel the globe, visiting Fifa's official offices like Rabat, where he was based over the past week as the Fifa Forward Enterprise controversy developed.
From BBC ● Aug. 7, 2026
Treating differences as a threat enables one society to dehumanize the other.
From "An Indigenous People’s History of the United States" by Roxanne Dunbar-Ortiz
This enabled the scientists to test whether those neurons were actually required for semaglutide to produce its lasting effects.
From Science Daily ● Aug. 20, 2026
“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
In correspondence previously provided to the BBC, the Met said: "The live investigation into those who could have facilitated or enabled Mohamed Al Fayed's offending continues."
From BBC ● Aug. 15, 2026
The new spur enabled Garfield's train to move up to the cottage's porch, sparing him a wagon ride over rough roads.
From "Ambushed!" by Gail Jarrow
“So, without the NRO enabling Steve’s maturity, he wouldn’t have returned to run Apple as a turnaround CEO.”
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 19, 2026
"Although we have built up a certain level of technical expertise, enabling robots to understand the world remains a global challenge."
From Barron's ● Aug. 19, 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
She could think of no way to make him care for her except by taking her father’s lock of hair to him and enabling him to conquer the town.
From "Mythology: Timeless Tales of Gods and Heroes" by Edith Hamilton
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.
