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enable

[en-ey-buhl]
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verb (used with object), en·a·bled, en·a·bling.
  1. to make able; give power, means, competence, or ability to; authorize: This document will enable him to pass through the enemy lines unmolested.
  2. to make possible or easy: Aeronautics enables us to overcome great distances.
  3. to make ready; equip (often used in combination): web-enabled cell phones.
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Origin of enable

Middle English word dating back to 1375–1425; see origin at en-1, able
Related formsen·a·bler, nounpre·en·a·ble, verb (used with object), pre·en·a·bled, pre·en·a·bling.

Synonyms

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1. empower, qualify, allow, permit.
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Related Words

empowerfacilitateimplementpermitlicensepreparefitinvestwarrantcommissionqualifyletapprovesanctionreadyendowconditionaccreditcapacitate

Examples from the Web for enabled

Contemporary Examples

Historical Examples

  • His long habit of thought concerning her enabled him to master this foolishness.

    The Spenders

    Harry Leon Wilson

  • Him, his own high-born pupil was enabled to unmask, and his disgrace was visited on me.

    Night and Morning, Complete

    Edward Bulwer-Lytton

  • The half-minute or so of talk had enabled him to regain his breath.

    The Rock of Chickamauga

    Joseph A. Altsheler

  • But this order has been given to you that the traitors may be enabled to leave the town.

    The Black Tulip

    Alexandre Dumas (Pere)

  • Has he been enabled to travel in his suite as far as Venice?

    Albert Durer

    T. Sturge Moore

British Dictionary definitions for enabled

enable

verb (tr)
  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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Derived Formsenablement, nounenabler, noun
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 enabled

enable

v.

early 15c., "to make fit;" mid-15c., "to make able to," from en- (1) "make, put in" + able. Related: Enabled; enabling.

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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper