Showing results for "enabling"

• present participle of enable.

enabling

American  

[en-ay-bling] / ɛnˈeɪ blɪŋ /

adjective

Law.

1. conferring additional legal powers or capacities, especially by removing a barrier to action, suspending required permission, or relaxing oversight: enabling power.

   an enabling act;

   enabling power.

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Etymology

Origin of enabling

First recorded in 1670–80; enable + -ing ²

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Explanation

Enabling is a term used for laws that confer legal powers to someone or something. An enabling act makes it possible for authorities to take action. One meaning of the verb enable is "to provide with legal powers," so the adjective formed by adding -ing gets used to describe legislation that has that empowering effect. When new American states were formed out of frontier territories, they could either organize statehood themselves, or they could be admitted into the Union through an "enabling act" of Congress.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

enabling

The U.S. military says it has helped more than 3,000 commercial vessels transit the strait over the past six months, enabling Persian Gulf oil exports to surpass prewar levels in recent weeks.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 30, 2026

BP’s profit almost quadrupled and cash flow jumped in the third quarter, enabling the British energy major to cut net debt faster than expected.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 30, 2026

She also accused Burch of providing Taylor resources for him “to appear ‘successful’” and accused Burch of enabling Taylor to conduct his “fraudulent enterprise and scheme.”

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 28, 2026

Although substantial development is still needed before skyrmions can be used in everyday computing devices, the research highlights their potential for improving data storage, enabling new computing architectures, and supporting advances in quantum technology.

From Science Daily ● Oct. 26, 2026

The students were asked about other time periods, too, and other amounts of money, enabling the researchers to assess how the students value money over time.

From "A Deadly Wandering: A Mystery, a Landmark Investigation, and the Astonishing Science of Attention in the Digital Age" by Matt Richtel

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Related Words

• permissive

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