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

/ 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.

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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

They also expect China’s capacity ceiling for aluminum to continue to enforce structural supply discipline in the country.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 25, 2026

What matters to Tehran is whether Washington can enforce sanctions more widely than before.

From BBC ● Aug. 25, 2026

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

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

The Coastal Act and the agency that enforces it have fielded some fair criticism over the years from developers, homeowners and others.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 28, 2026

Hong Kong’s government said it vigorously enforces United Nations sanctions but not those imposed unilaterally by individual nations, which it says violate international law.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 26, 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

Life itself—social life that is—to a very considerable extent enforces religious teaching.

From A Grammar of Freethought by Chapman Cohen

“Brush clearance rules have been in place since the 1950s, but have been enforced very, very little,” said Christine Bouisset, a University of Pau professor who has studied fire risks along suburban-rural boundaries.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 30, 2026

Torossian said she was told by the British Embassy in Stockholm that the original deportation decision would not be enforced by the authorities while the injunction order was considered.

From BBC ● Aug. 30, 2026

More than half a dozen countries, including France, the United Kingdom and Brazil, have either enforced laws that ban social media or taken steps to restrict the use of Instagram, Facebook and YouTube.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 28, 2026

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

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 13, 2026

The days he had spent on the boat, the enforced rest, had built up his strength.

From "The Amber Spyglass" by Philip Pullman

Australia banned social media use for those under 16, but enforcing the law has been challenging because young people have tried to get around the restrictions.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 1, 2026

Instead, after CASA, the court can usually prevent only a losing government from enforcing its unlawful rule against the specific parties that filed the lawsuit.

From Slate ● Aug. 25, 2026

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

From BBC ● Aug. 4, 2026

Now, Attorney General Andrea Campbell, a Democrat, is aggressively enforcing the statute against recalcitrant communities in the state.

From MarketWatch ● Aug. 1, 2026

There were still few rules at Down House, and Charles was not very good at enforcing the ones he and Emma did make.

From "Charles and Emma: The Darwins' Leap of Faith" by Deborah Heiligman

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