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

What followed became an exercise in thinking through what is lost—and perhaps can never be regained—when transphobes and their enablers rise to prominence as our most powerful cultural gatekeepers. —Literary Hub, 12 Mar. 2026

VMWare's virtualization software is enabler of cloud computing. —Zev Fima, CNBC, 5 Mar. 2026

This impression, however, was always complicated, and as time passed, the enforcers started to look more like enablers. —Jon Allsop, New Yorker, 27 Feb. 2026

And the Roberts Court still stands as a key enabler of Trumpism as well as a check against it, unless and until the justices prove otherwise. —David Pozen, The Atlantic, 26 Feb. 2026

Word History

First Known Use

1615, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for enabler

• abler
• glabellar
• stabler

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