enabler
Americannoun
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a person or thing that enables something, or makes it possible.
Technology is a key enabler of efficiency and productivity.
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a person who enables or supports someone else’s bad or dysfunctional behavior.
His wife is an unwitting enabler who makes excuses for his drinking.
Usage
What does enabler mean? An enabler is someone who allows or makes it easier for someone to do what they shouldn’t. It’s especially used in the context of addiction and abuse.The verb enable is usually used in a positive or neutral way meaning to make possible or provide someone with the power, means, opportunity, or authority to do something.But the word enabler is almost always used in a critical way to refer to someone who allows, encourages, or makes it possible for another person to engage in behavior that’s harmful to others, such as abuse, or self-destructive, such as drug or alcohol abuse.For example, a parent who allows the other parent to abuse their children might be called an enabler.Example: He asked me to go out for one drink, but I don’t want to be an enabler, so I told him we could go to a movie instead.
Etymology
Origin of enabler
First recorded in 1610–20; 1975–80 enabler for def. 2
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.
In turn, anyone who sides with their cause will be labeled a criminal enabler, a disloyal pariah.
From Los Angeles Times
The gun lobby and its enablers have long pushed the myth that only a so-called good guy with a gun could stop a bad guy with a gun.
From Salon
“He is a detail man,” Bryant said, “and a brilliant enabler,” who sees the big picture, but is happy to talk about the proper location of waste bins.
From Washington Post
We are committed to playing a role of enabler for more co-operation in defence, which we believe is one of the key prerequisites to make sure that Europe maintains its strategic autonomy, Obermann said.
From Reuters
Between quips, he chugalugged Michelobs as some enabler behind him pulled fresh bottles out of a bag and stowed the empties.
From Los Angeles Times
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.
