enabling

American  

[en-ey-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

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

"Now is the right time to take full ownership of VodafoneThree, enabling us to move at an even faster pace to transform the UK's digital infrastructure," Vodafone said in a statement on Tuesday.

From Barron's • May 5, 2026

It will give us a comprehensive picture of the nation’s overall health, enabling us to better invest our healthcare dollars to target the cures and interventions most needed.

From MarketWatch • May 4, 2026

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said his agency would "relentlessly target the regime's ability to generate, move and repatriate funds, and pursue anyone enabling Tehran's attempts to evade sanctions".

From BBC • May 2, 2026

"The previous work using XMM-Newton really cleared the way for XRISM, enabling us to eliminate numerous theories and prove which of the last two competing theories was correct," says Yaël.

From Science Daily • May 1, 2026

She watches him from the window, walking down the block, a small, balding, unemployed middle-aged man, who is enabling her to wreck her marriage.

From "The Namesake" by Jhumpa Lahiri

Related Words

• permissive