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Etymology
Origin of enactment
Explanation
The process of making something into a law is enactment. The enactment of new legislation in your town means that you'll now have to keep your dog on a leash in all public parks. Enactment comes from the verb enact, which has long been used to mean "establish as law." This legal terminology has "act" at its center, meaning both "to do" and "written proof of something that's been said, done, or agreed to." Legitimizing this kind of act as law is where enactment comes in. You can also use this word for the resulting law itself: "The enactment doesn't affect me — I never let my dog off her leash anyway."
Vocabulary lists containing enactment
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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.
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Carlos Irving Quintana, a slim 14-year-old with purple hair, wins cheers of approval with his enactment of the iconic "Siuuu" leap of Portuguese football star Cristiano Ronaldo when he scores a goal.
From Barron's ● Aug. 22, 2026
Since the law’s enactment, Congress has provided funding for the national program.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 30, 2026
The bill’s imminent enactment comes as housing affordability is front and center for many Americans.
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 10, 2026
Since the new law’s enactment, the Human Rights Awareness and Promotion Forum, a Ugandan advocacy group, has documented more than 1,200 cases of blackmail and harassment.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Mar. 22, 2026
Few criticisms of the legislation could be heard en route to enactment.
From "The New Jim Crow" by Michelle Alexander
Originalism looks only to the past meaning of the Constitution at the time of the founding or at subsequent enactments.
From Slate ● Jul. 20, 2026
They include historic documentary scenes, modern enactments, cartoons and graphics.
From Los Angeles Times ● May 20, 2025
In general, that anxiety shows up in the defenses against it through a wide variety of hypermasculine poses, declarations and enactments.
From Salon ● Oct. 17, 2024
Such stories and dramatic enactments can bring shared attention to these kinds of challenges, and we know that shared attention is one mechanism that can help people cooperate and solve coordination dilemmas.
From Scientific American ● Oct. 20, 2023
Similarly the enactments of church councils and general chapters are quite general.
From Medieval English Nunneries c. 1275 to 1535 by Eileen Power
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.
