Synonyms

enforce

American

[en-fawrs, -fohrs] / ɛnˈfɔrs, -ˈfoʊrs /

verb (used with object)

to put or keep in force; compel obedience to.

to enforce a rule; Traffic laws will be strictly enforced.

Synonyms:

apply, execute, impose, administer
to obtain (payment, obedience, etc.) by force or compulsion.
to impose (a course of action) upon a person.

The doctor enforced a strict dietary regimen.
to support (a demand, claim, etc.) by force.

to enforce one's rights as a citizen.
to impress or urge (an argument, contention, etc.) forcibly; lay stress upon.

He enforced his argument by adding details.

enforce British

/ ɪnˈfɔːsɪdlɪ, ɪnˈfɔːs /

verb

to ensure observance of or obedience to (a law, decision, etc)
to impose (obedience, loyalty, etc) by or as by force
to emphasize or reinforce (an argument, demand, etc)

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

Inflected Forms

Participles

Conjugated Forms

Present

Past

Future

Etymology

Origin of enforce

First recorded in 1275–1325; Middle English enforcen, from Anglo-French enforcer, Old French enforcier, enforc(ir), from en- en- ¹ + forci(e)r “to compel, strengthen” ( see force)

Explanation

To enforce means to make sure the laws and rules are being followed. So those guys wearing striped outfits and whistles? They're in charge of enforcing the rules of the game. See the word force inside of enforce? It can help you remember that enforce is all about forcing others to follow the rules. The traffic police enforce the driving laws by handing out speeding tickets. Your parents hopefully enforce good behavior by grounding you when you stay out too late. It would be wonderful if everyone just followed the rules on their own, but it seems the temptation to be bad is just too strong. So thank goodness for all the enforcers that keep us in line.

Keep Reading on Vocabulary.com

Vocabulary lists containing enforce

Stay Strong: Forc and Fort

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13th Amendment (1865)

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19th Amendment (1920)

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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.

See Examples For:

enforce enforces enforced enforcing

Nor does it impinge on the States’ authority ‘to create and enforce a legal code’ for elections.’”

From Salon ● Aug. 24, 2026

In order to enforce the ban, schools must amend their internal regulations.

From Barron's ● Aug. 24, 2026

“The city has left us with no choice but to file a lawsuit to enforce the law,” he said, and consequences for taxpayers may be grave.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 22, 2026

The fact that AI-generated text can’t be copyrighted has made it one of the hard lines the industry has been able to enforce.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 17, 2026

I just wondered if they were really planning to make us enforce the rules when nobody else did.

From "Newjack: Guarding Sing Sing" by Ted Conover

Then it hacked the module that enforces blind obedience and embarked on a long journey to becoming human, with a full set of emotions spanning love, grief and . . . just kidding.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 15, 2026

For more than a decade, aircraft entering Yemeni airspace have needed prior clearance from the Saudi-led coalition that backs the government and says it enforces the restriction at its request.

From Barron's ● Jul. 13, 2026

Paxton cannot claim ignorance of the law because he enforces it, said Joshua Blank, research director of the Texas Politics Project at the University of Texas at Austin.

From Salon ● Jul. 7, 2026

U.S. law generally enforces a quiet period for 40 days after the IPO during which time the company and any of the underwriters are prohibited from any communications on the stock.

From MarketWatch ● Jun. 15, 2026

There is a reporter who arranges and publishes the opinions, a clerk who keeps the records, and a marshal who attends the court, preserves decorum, and enforces its orders.

From Government in the United States National, State and Local by James Wilford Garner

The bill also states attorneys who file fraudulent sex abuse lawsuits can be fined $25,000 per violation, a penalty that could be enforced by the state attorney general or attorneys for local governments.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 28, 2026

But with an enforced break through injury and then lower minutes at the World Cup, he could be about to produce the regular scintillating performances we have become used to.

From BBC ● Aug. 27, 2026

But many of these measures have not been fully implemented or properly enforced.

From BBC ● Aug. 20, 2026

And he enforced antitrust laws because powerful economic actors sometimes fail to restrain themselves.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 13, 2026

In 1996, the Chicago Board of Education enforced new rules saying that students had to make at least a 6.8 grade level in reading and math to move on to high school.

From "Our America: Life and Death on the South Side of Chicago" by LeAlan Jones

His decision, which blocks the Texas attorney general from enforcing the law, noted that the prohibition was “an unconstitutional restriction on speech.”

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 26, 2026

U.S. authorities are enforcing a new “Connected Vehicles” rule aiming to prevent foreign adversaries such as China and Russia from using technology such as data transmission and cameras in vehicles to spy on Americans.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 13, 2026

Nominally, Jeanine Pirro is the U.S. attorney for D.C., appointed by Donald Trump and tasked with enforcing the law in the nation’s capital.

From Slate ● Aug. 4, 2026

"The biggest problem is we're not enforcing similar standards in the region," Njuguna said.

From BBC ● Aug. 4, 2026

The total ban on life-without-parole sentences for children convicted of non-homicides should have been the easiest decision to implement, but enforcing the Supreme Court's ruling was proving much more difficult than I had hoped.

From "Just Mercy" by Bryan Stevenson

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023