empower

verb

em·​pow·​er im-ˈpau̇(-ə)r 

empowered; empowering; empowers

transitive verb

1

: to give official authority or legal power to

empowered her attorney to act on her behalf

2

: enable sense 1a

… nootropic agents empower the lower amounts of acetylcholine in diseased brains to work overtime …

—Science News

3

: to promote the self-actualization or influence of

The American women's movement has been inspiring and empowering women for nearly 20 years …

—Ron Hansen

Members of our discipline often envision themselves as agents of social change who try to promote critique of dominant ideologies and empower students to become active participants in the larger political world.

—Christy Friend

Synonyms of empower

• enable

Examples of empower in a Sentence

seeking changes in the workplace that will empower women

the federal agency empowered to collect taxes

Recent Examples on the Web

Notably, the new action comes about a month after UMG had sued DistroKid in September, claiming the company has helped empower bad actors to upload AI slop songs at mass scale, diluting the royalty pool for genuine artists. — Ethan Millman, HollywoodReporter, 16 Oct. 2026

Speaking The Developer Dialect In any marketing interaction, the goal is to make the prospect feel seen, understood and empowered. — Kevin Cochrane, Forbes.com, 16 Oct. 2026

Anura is the interface that empowers a small armored crew to seamlessly interact with everything from on-board mission systems to uncrewed teammates. — New Atlas, 15 Oct. 2026

Olsen and the team created a factory right in the heart of town – employing, and empowering, a community in the process. — Adam Duxter, CBS News, 15 Oct. 2026

Word History

First Known Use

1648, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Rhymes for empower

• airpower
• brainpower
• devour
• firepower
• horsepower
• manpower
• mayflower
• safflower
• sunflower
• wallflower
• watchtower
• wildflower

Kids Definition

empower

verb

em·​pow·​er im-ˈpau̇(-ə)r 

: to give official authority or legal power to

Legal Definition

empower

transitive verb

em·​pow·​er im-ˈpau̇-ər 

: to give official authority or legal power to

no branch of government should be empowered unilaterally to impose a serious penalty

—L. H. Tribe