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

I discussed those questions with Gibney, and what they taught him about Musk and our penchant for enabling men like him, in a wide-ranging conversation transcribed below.

From Salon ● Oct. 16, 2026

Although practical applications will require further development, this atomic-scale approach could eventually help researchers manage both vortex movement and heat flow in future superconducting technologies, potentially enabling more efficient devices that consume less power.

From Science Daily ● Oct. 16, 2026

A new four-lane road bridge linking China and North Korea finally opened on Thursday, 12 years late, enabling the Asian giant and its isolated nuclear-armed neighbour to step up cross-border trade substantially.

From Barron's ● Oct. 15, 2026

In previous years, conditional releases were struck with some top players - including Jon Rahm and Tyrrell Hatton - enabling them to play on both the DP World Tour and LIV.

From BBC ● Oct. 12, 2026

At sunset the wind died, and the ceiling lifted 150 feet off the glacier, enabling me to locate my base camp.

From "Into the Wild" by Jon Krakauer

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Related Words

• permissive

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