enable

American  

[en-ey-buhl] / ɛnˈeɪ bəl /

verb (used with object)

enabled, enabling

1. 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.

   Synonyms:

   permit, allow, qualify, empower

2. to make possible or easy.

   Aeronautics enables us to overcome great distances.

3. 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.

4. Digital Technology.

   1. to make (a device, system, or feature) active or functional; turn on.

      The automatic snapshot feature is enabled by default.

   2. to equip for an extended, peripheral, or premium use.

      to enable your laptop for wireless internet access.

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enable British  

/ ɪnˈeɪbəl /

verb

1. to provide (someone) with adequate power, means, opportunity, or authority (to do something)

2. to make possible

3. to put (a digital electronic circuit element) into an operative condition by supplying a suitable input pulse

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Other Word Forms

• enablement
  noun
• enabler
  noun
• preenable
  verb (used with object)

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.

Example Sentences

"Our goal in reconstructing the Da Vinci family's lineage up to the present day, while also preserving and valuing the places connected to Leonardo, is to enable scientific research on his DNA," says Vezzosi.

From Science Daily • May 4, 2026

This connection would enable robots to act in support roles that require a high level of trust, he says.

From The Wall Street Journal • May 4, 2026

California enacted a law 11 years ago that mandates user consent before smart TVs can enable voice-recognition systems.

From Slate • May 3, 2026

"We picked particular areas to enable us to see a gradient of high nutrients to low nutrients," said Dr Richard Unsworth from Swansea University, adding that the team's findings were "stark".

From BBC • May 2, 2026

For Morgan, the principal mystery of organismal biology was not the gene but genesis: How did “units of heredity” enable the formation of animals and maintain the functions of organs and organisms?

From "The Gene" by Siddhartha Mukherjee

Related Words

• empower
• facilitate
• implement
• permit
• set up