enabler

noun

en·​abler i-ˈnā-b(ə-)lər 

: one that enables another to achieve an end

especially : one who enables another to persist in self-destructive behavior (such as substance abuse) by providing excuses or by making it possible to avoid the consequences of such behavior

Did you know?

Enabling: The Behavior of an Enabler

Enable has a number of senses, most of which are some variant on allowing someone (or something, such as enabling cookies on a computer) to do something. In the past several decades, enable has also started to take on a new associated sense in the field of addiction studies, where enabling is viewed as giving misguided support to a person with some substance-abuse issue. A person who facilitates the self-destructive behavior of another is referred to as an enabler.

Examples of enabler in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Note to Biden’s enablers: that wasn’t supposed to be a documentary. —Rachel Marsden, Hartford Courant, 11 July 2024

Entitled male predators, protection by a retinue of enablers, and silencing by payoff or litigation are still foundational to our national power structure. —Nina Burleigh, Washington Post, 10 July 2024

China is the main enabler of Russia's war of aggression against Ukraine. —CBS News, 7 July 2024

For the fixers, enablers, and vassals who surround Donald Trump, the rewards of his friendship are not worth the risks. —Fintan O’Toole, The New York Review of Books, 27 June 2024

Word History

First Known Use

1615, in the meaning defined above

Medical Definition

enabler

noun

en·​abler i-ˈnā-b(ə-)lər 

: one that enables another to achieve an end

especially : one who enables another to persist in self-destructive behavior (as substance abuse) by providing excuses or by helping that individual avoid the consequences of such behavior