enumerate

verb

enu·mer·ate | \ i-ˈn(y)ü-mə-ˌrāt

enumerated; enumerating

Definition of enumerate

1 : to ascertain the number of : count

2 : to specify one after another : list

Other Words from enumerate Synonyms The Meaning of Enumerate Gets Specific Example Sentences Learn More about enumerate

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The Meaning of Enumerate Gets Specific

In a census year, the U.S. government attempts to enumerate every single citizen of the country—a task that, even in the modern era of technology, isn't truly possible. Medical tests often require the enumeration of bacteria, viruses, or other organisms to determine the progress of a disease or the effectiveness of a medication. Despite its numer- root, you don't have to use numbers when enumerating. For students of government and law, the "enumerated powers" are the specific responsibilities of the Congress, as listed in the U.S. Constitution; these are the only powers that Congress has, a fact that the Tenth Amendment makes even more clearly.

Examples of enumerate in a Sentence

Let me enumerate my reasons for doing this. I proceeded to enumerate the reasons why I would be justified in filing a lawsuit for negligence.

Recent Examples on the Web

This second go-round had predictably bad questions from Congresspeople who were more interested in pushing a narrative that Google Search had a bias against conservatives than digging into, well, any of the issues enumerated above. — Dieter Bohn, The Verge, "The Verge 2018 tech report card: Google," 26 Dec. 2018 Let’s look at the risk factors, as enumerated by Medical News Today. 1. — Steve Brykman, Ars Technica, "Forget Fortnite—my son is still obsessed with Minecraft," 16 Dec. 2018 Actual medicines have research behind them, enumerating their benefits, characterizing their harms, and ensuring the former supersedes the latter. — Peter B. Bach, WSJ, "If Weed Is Medicine, So Is Budweiser," 17 Jan. 2019 Lesser crimes were not enumerated by the DA but can be determined by reviewing the Feb. 15 directive. — Stu Bykofsky, Philly.com, "DA Larry Krasner's revolution comes with a couple of speed bumps | Stu Bykofsky," 12 Apr. 2018 And he's not spoken out specifically about the issues enumerated by the administration. — Callum Borchers, Washington Post, "White House: Trump has been tough on Russia because he said so," 6 Apr. 2018 The first 82 counts of the indictment enumerated shipments of caviar that Garbarino had received between 1984 and 1987 and for which false customs declarations had been filed. — David Samuels, Town & Country, "One Bad Egg," 18 Oct. 2013 If President Donald Trump is around, critics will enumerate his myriad and sometimes serious faults and then outdo him. — Jay Ambrose, OrlandoSentinel.com, "Brett Kavanaugh an excellent Supreme Court pick," 11 July 2018 China’s vast, protean economy is certainly difficult to enumerate. — The Economist, "China’s statistics are bad. Many criticisms of them are worse," 7 July 2018

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'enumerate.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.