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
Yet such attitudes foster an atmosphere of tolerance, signaling that violence is acceptable and enabling its continuation.
—
Justin Pickett, The Conversation, 17 Nov. 2025
The new method grows ultra-thin layers of perovskite films so their atoms line up perfectly, which could enable more powerful, durable and efficient devices.
—Prabhat Ranjan Mishra, Interesting Engineering, 16 Nov. 2025
In 1894, the first ever mass march in American history called on the government to hire unemployed men to build public infrastructure financed by a public deficit that would be enabled by a move from the restrictive Gold Standard to a looser silver standard.
—David McWilliams, Fortune, 16 Nov. 2025
More than two years after the deadliest day in Israel’s history, the government has yet to establish an official state commission of inquiry to investigate the security and intelligence failures that enabled Hamas to kill over 1,200 Israelis and kidnap more than 250 others.
—Tal Shalev, CNN Money, 16 Nov. 2025
See All Example Sentences for enable
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Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
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Justin Pickett, The Conversation, 17 Nov. 2025
The new method grows ultra-thin layers of perovskite films so their atoms line up perfectly, which could enable more powerful, durable and efficient devices.
—Prabhat Ranjan Mishra, Interesting Engineering, 16 Nov. 2025
In 1894, the first ever mass march in American history called on the government to hire unemployed men to build public infrastructure financed by a public deficit that would be enabled by a move from the restrictive Gold Standard to a looser silver standard.
—David McWilliams, Fortune, 16 Nov. 2025
More than two years after the deadliest day in Israel’s history, the government has yet to establish an official state commission of inquiry to investigate the security and intelligence failures that enabled Hamas to kill over 1,200 Israelis and kidnap more than 250 others.
—Tal Shalev, CNN Money, 16 Nov. 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 18 Nov. 2025.
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