enabled; enabling
i-ˈnā-b(ə-)liŋ 
1
a
: to provide with the means or opportunity
training that enables people to earn a living
b
: to make possible, practical, or easy
a deal that would enable passage of a new law
c
: to cause to operate
software that enables the keyboard
2
: to give legal power, capacity, or sanction to
a law enabling admission of a state
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 enable in a Sentence
The machine enables us to create copies without losing quality.
The system enables students to access class materials online.
These choices are part of what enabled the company to be successful.
a filing system that enables easy access to information
Be sure to enable your computer's firewall.
Recent Examples on the Web
This includes mini-rovers, crewed lunar rovers, and all kinds of instrumentation that will enable lunar exploration, development, and in-situ resource development.
—
Space.com Staff, Space.com, 28 June 2025
Fresh droppings often contain viral RNA, enabling researchers to recover full genomes and assess the pathogenic potential of circulating strains.
—John Drake, Forbes.com, 28 June 2025
That could enable more attentive owners to reduce CO2 emissions by as much as 40 percent over an average year of use.
—Rosemary Feitelberg, Footwear News, 28 June 2025
From a practical standpoint, this decision enables an unprecedented situation where individuals born on U.S. territory might be considered citizens in one jurisdiction but not an adjacent one.
—New York Daily News Editorial Board, New York Daily News, 28 June 2025
See All Example Sentences for enable
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
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Space.com Staff, Space.com, 28 June 2025
Fresh droppings often contain viral RNA, enabling researchers to recover full genomes and assess the pathogenic potential of circulating strains.
—John Drake, Forbes.com, 28 June 2025
That could enable more attentive owners to reduce CO2 emissions by as much as 40 percent over an average year of use.
—Rosemary Feitelberg, Footwear News, 28 June 2025
From a practical standpoint, this decision enables an unprecedented situation where individuals born on U.S. territory might be considered citizens in one jurisdiction but not an adjacent one.
—New York Daily News Editorial Board, New York Daily News, 28 June 2025
See All Example Sentences for enable
Cite this Entry
“Enable.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/enable. Accessed 1 Jul. 2025.
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