habilitate

[ huh-bil-i-teyt ]

See synonyms for: habilitate habilitation on Thesaurus.com

verb (used with object),ha·bil·i·tat·ed, ha·bil·i·tat·ing.

to clothe or dress.
to make fit.

verb (used without object),ha·bil·i·tat·ed, ha·bil·i·tat·ing.

to become fit.
(in European and other educational systems) to qualify as professor or instructor after having earned one’s doctorate.

Origin of habilitate

First recorded in 1595–1605; from Medieval Latin habilitātus, past participle of habilitāre “to make fit”; see ability, -ate¹

Other words from habilitate

ha·bil·i·ta·tion [huh-bil-i-tey-shuhn] /həˌbɪl ɪˈteɪ ʃən/ noun
ha·bil·i·ta·tive, adjective
ha·bil·i·ta·tor, noun

Words Nearby habilitate

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use habilitate in a sentence

A nation thus constituted could not habilitate slavery with all the hideous features it wore in Virginia and Massachusetts.
History of the Negro Race in America From 1619 to 1880. Vol 1 | George W. Williams

British Dictionary definitions for habilitate

habilitate

/ (həˈbɪlɪˌteɪt) /

verb

(tr) mainly Western US to equip and finance (a mine)
(intr) to qualify for office

(tr) archaic to clothe

Origin of habilitate

C17: from Medieval Latin habilitāre to make fit, from Latin habilitās aptness, readiness; see ability

Derived forms of habilitate

habilitation, noun
habilitator, noun

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

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