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 Any serious music lover can enumerate without difficulty three-dozen Soviet pianists who made important Beethoven recordings. — Norman Lebrecht, WSJ, 1 Apr. 2022 One historian, years ago, decided to collect and enumerate all the scholarly explanations for the fall of Rome. — Cullen Murphy, The Atlantic, 1 Mar. 2022 There was a part of me that wanted Janet to take this opportunity to unload on everybody involved — to enumerate the layers of hypocrisy involved in the whole moral panic of it all. — Los Angeles Times, 31 Jan. 2022 Loyal fans can fiercely debate and enumerate the merits of each, like which has the best rides, fireworks and food. — Victoria Brown, USA TODAY, 25 Oct. 2021 The documents do not enumerate in detail who is eligible for an additional vaccine dose. — Helen Branswell, STAT, 16 Aug. 2021 The guidance doesn't enumerate which of the many outdoor camp activities should and shouldn't require masks. — NBC News, 28 May 2021 There are differences, some slight and some significant, between the novel and the series, but to enumerate them would be to validate a false hierarchy of the source text and its adaptation. — Doreen St. Félix, The New Yorker, 14 May 2021 The scale of the challenge in parts of rural Oregon remains difficult to enumerate. — oregonlive, 10 Apr. 2021 See More

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.