enable
verbCA, US, UK /ɪˈneɪ.bəl/ · AU /ɪˈnæɪ.bəl/
Etymology From Middle English enablen, equivalent to en- + able.
7 senses
- 1To make somebody able (to do, or to be, something); to…
- 2To affirm; to make firm and strong.
- 3To qualify or approve for some role or position; to…
- 4To yield the opportunity or provide the possibility for…
- 5To imply or tacitly confer excuse for an action or a behavior.
- 6To put a circuit element into action by supplying a…
- 7To activate, to make operational (especially of a…
To make somebody able (to do, or to be, something); to give sufficient ability or power to do or to be; to give strength or ability to.
- And I thank Christ Jesus our Lord, who hath enabled me, for that he counted me faithful, putting me into the ministry; who was before a blasphemer, and a persecutor, and injurious: but I obtained mercy, because I did it ignorantly in unbelief.1611, The Holy Bible, […] (King James Version), London: […] Robert Barker, […], →OCLC, 1 Timothy i:12:
To affirm; to make firm and strong.
To qualify or approve for some role or position; to render sanction or authorization to; to confirm suitability for.
- This was widely interpreted to mean that slavery was once more firmly illegal in England. However, the "positive law" mentioned–i.e., a direct law specifically enabling slavery–existed in many British colonies (although not all), since these colonies had a degree of freedom to write their own law apart from that of the home country.2018 December 1, Drachinifel, 3:21 from the start, in Anti-Slavery Patrols - The West Africa Squadron, archived from the original on 29 Nov 2024:
To yield the opportunity or provide the possibility for something; to provide with means, opportunities, and the like.
- Temperance gives Nature her full play, and enables her to exert herself in all her force and vigor.1711 October 23 (Gregorian calendar), [Joseph Addison], “FRIDAY, October 13, 1711”, in The Spectator, number 195; republished in Alexander Chalmers, editor, The Spectator; a New Edition, […], volume II, New York, N.Y.: D[aniel] Appleton & Company, 1853, →OCLC, page 506:
- April 16, 2018, Norimitsu Onishi and Selam Gebrekidan writing in The New York Times, ‘They Eat Money’: How Mandela’s Political Heirs Grow Rich Off Corruption
3 more examples
- Mostly, the microbiome is beneficial. It helps with digestion and enables people to extract a lot more calories from their food than would otherwise be possible. Research over the past few years, however, has implicated it in diseases from atherosclerosis to asthma to autism.2013 June 29, “A punch in the gut”, in The Economist, volume 407, number 8842, pages 72–3:
- Trainers of modern athletes monitor performance by using high tech equipment and biometric bodysuits with embedded sensors to enable detailed analysis of movement, balance, efficiency for athletic performance.2009, Meribeth A. Dayme, Dynamics of the Singing Voice, Springer Science & Business Media, page 174:
- During 1971-72, spare Type 4s on other regions enabled the whole class to be sidelined, with Class 43s going first.2022 January 12, David Clough, “From Germany with love: a Warship retrospective”, in RAIL, number 948, page 49:
To imply or tacitly confer excuse for an action or a behavior.
- His parents enabled him to go on buying drugs.
Business, Electrical engineering, Electricity, Electromagnetism, Electronics, Energy, Engineering, Natural sciences, Physical sciences, Physics To put a circuit element into action by supplying a suitable input pulse.
Business, Computing, Electrical engineering, Electricity, Electromagnetism, Electronics, Energy, Engineering, Mathematics, Natural sciences, Physical sciences, Physics, Sciences To activate, to make operational (especially of a function of an electronic or mechanical device).
- Derived terms
- disenable, enablable, enablement, enabler, reënable, re-enable, reenable