1
as in enabling
to give official or legal power to
the federal agency empowered to collect taxes
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in letting
to make able or possible
workshops in financial management to empower workers to plan for their retirement
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.
Read More
Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of empowering
Spaces like this are empowering students and preparing them for college and careers.
—
Ashley Portillo, CBS News, 18 May 2026
The mothers on the schools committee are also empowering each other.
—Mariana Navarrete Villegas, Hartford Courant, 16 May 2026
With more than 25 years of professional experience, Harmony Vallejo has built a career on empowering others to achieve meaningful growth.
—Wyles Daniel, USA Today, 15 May 2026
Why undermine those reforms by empowering a self-serving teachers union?
—Editorial Board, Washington Post, 14 May 2026
Congress should also expand access to care by empowering nurses and other qualified providers to perform basic healthcare services traditionally limited to physicians, especially in underserved areas.
—Rachel Royster
may 14, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 14 May 2026
Through decades of technological changes and evolving services, Climb’s focus remains on empowering employees — and the members who trust Climb with their financial futures.
—Sponsored Content, Denver Post, 13 May 2026
The Canucks, heck, any organization in any field or pursuit, could do a lot worse than empowering leaders with those sorts of qualities.
—Thomas Drance, New York Times, 13 May 2026
The relatively low cost of entry into drone warfare has disrupted traditional military asymmetries, empowering non-state actors and smaller countries to challenge larger, technologically superior adversaries.
—Encyclopedia Britannica, 8 May 2026
Ashley Portillo, CBS News, 18 May 2026
The mothers on the schools committee are also empowering each other.
—Mariana Navarrete Villegas, Hartford Courant, 16 May 2026
With more than 25 years of professional experience, Harmony Vallejo has built a career on empowering others to achieve meaningful growth.
—Wyles Daniel, USA Today, 15 May 2026
Why undermine those reforms by empowering a self-serving teachers union?
—Editorial Board, Washington Post, 14 May 2026
Congress should also expand access to care by empowering nurses and other qualified providers to perform basic healthcare services traditionally limited to physicians, especially in underserved areas.
—Rachel Royster
may 14, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 14 May 2026
Through decades of technological changes and evolving services, Climb’s focus remains on empowering employees — and the members who trust Climb with their financial futures.
—Sponsored Content, Denver Post, 13 May 2026
The Canucks, heck, any organization in any field or pursuit, could do a lot worse than empowering leaders with those sorts of qualities.
—Thomas Drance, New York Times, 13 May 2026
The relatively low cost of entry into drone warfare has disrupted traditional military asymmetries, empowering non-state actors and smaller countries to challenge larger, technologically superior adversaries.
—Encyclopedia Britannica, 8 May 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for empowering
Verb
-
The fiasco left aspiring translators in Korea, most of them people of color, with one less route into the profession, further enabling white people’s social and actual capital to be kept within their possession.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
18 May 2026
-
The new exciton-polariton platform avoided part of that problem by enabling all-optical switching, where one light signal directly controls another without converting anything into electricity.—
Rupendra Brahambhatt,
Interesting Engineering,
16 May 2026
Verb
-
In many scenes where a conventional filmmaker would have layered in the sound of footsteps or ambient movement, Abraham chose silence, letting the visual image generate its own interior noise in the viewer’s mind.—
Naman Ramachandran,
Variety,
16 May 2026
-
Going for a slightly longer take on a bob that hits below the chin (and perhaps even grazes toward your shoulders) allows all the polish and charm of a bob, while letting natural texture give a breezy, airy look that requires minimal work.—
Kaitlyn Yarborough,
Southern Living,
15 May 2026
Verb
-
In an unsigned one-sentence order, the Supreme Court left intact a ruling from Virginia's highest court that invalidated an amendment to the state constitution authorizing adoption of the new House district lines.—
Melissa Quinn,
CBS News,
16 May 2026
-
Most states had been authorizing marijuana for medical use even before the rescheduling, and nearly half of all states also say recreational use is OK.—
Jeanine Santucci,
USA Today,
9 May 2026
Verb
-
Starter Anthony Kay helped the Sox complete a three-game sweep, allowing two runs over a career-high six-plus innings.—
LaMond Pope,
Chicago Tribune,
15 May 2026
-
If the Jets defense can improve from allowing the second-most points in the league to average, the Jets could flirt with making a playoff bid in 2026.—
Antwan Staley,
New York Daily News,
15 May 2026
Cite this Entry
“Empowering.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/empowering. Accessed 21 May. 2026.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
