as in support
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1
as in letting
to make able or possible
my new glasses enable me to read the fine print
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2
as in empowering
to give official or legal power to
a law that would enable the authorities to inspect food preparation areas for health code violations
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Recent Examples of enabling
R. Eric Thomas, Chicago Tribune, 1 Mar. 2026
President Biden singularly stands out in his callous enabling of the horrors inflicted on Gaza for more than a year.
—Shibley Telhami, Time, 13 Oct. 2025
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
But his throw was slightly offline, enabling Cardinals second baseman Thomas Saggese to score.
—Jaylon Thompson, Kansas City Star, 16 May 2026
Harvey integrates with law firm knowledge management systems, enabling users to query internal precedent libraries alongside external legal sources.
—Allbusiness, Forbes.com, 16 May 2026
The administration allowed a separate temporary waiver enabling purchases of some Iranian crude to expire in April.
—Jennifer A. Dlouhy, Fortune, 16 May 2026
The offering is designed to reduce the distance delivery partners need to travel, enabling faster delivery times.
—Glenn Taylor, Footwear News, 15 May 2026
The program, launched earlier this year, appears to be another weapon enabling hardliners and the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) to exert control in Iran.
—Tim Lister, CNN Money, 10 May 2026
Stacking is the key to McCarthy's lunar imagery, enabling him to turn the subtle variations of color in an image of the moon into the rich browns and blues seen in his edits.
—Josh Dinner, Space.com, 9 May 2026
Noun
But removing the enabling without identifying a goal is just going to cause conflict.
—R. Eric Thomas, Chicago Tribune, 1 Mar. 2026
President Biden singularly stands out in his callous enabling of the horrors inflicted on Gaza for more than a year.
—Shibley Telhami, Time, 13 Oct. 2025
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, 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
But his throw was slightly offline, enabling Cardinals second baseman Thomas Saggese to score.
—Jaylon Thompson, Kansas City Star, 16 May 2026
Harvey integrates with law firm knowledge management systems, enabling users to query internal precedent libraries alongside external legal sources.
—Allbusiness, Forbes.com, 16 May 2026
The administration allowed a separate temporary waiver enabling purchases of some Iranian crude to expire in April.
—Jennifer A. Dlouhy, Fortune, 16 May 2026
The offering is designed to reduce the distance delivery partners need to travel, enabling faster delivery times.
—Glenn Taylor, Footwear News, 15 May 2026
The program, launched earlier this year, appears to be another weapon enabling hardliners and the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) to exert control in Iran.
—Tim Lister, CNN Money, 10 May 2026
Stacking is the key to McCarthy's lunar imagery, enabling him to turn the subtle variations of color in an image of the moon into the rich browns and blues seen in his edits.
—Josh Dinner, Space.com, 9 May 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for enabling
Noun
-
When the Moon enters Taurus, support feels steady enough to believe.—
Tarot.com,
Hartford Courant,
14 May 2026
-
The endorsement comes on the heels of a poll by a super PAC formed in support of Goldman’s that found the congressmember is trailing Lander by 5% in the race.—
Josephine Stratman,
New York Daily News,
14 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
-
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,
Encyclopedia Britannica,
8 May 2026
-
One of Smart’s greatest strengths is empowering his players to grow their games.—
CJ Moore,
New York Times,
8 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
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
Noun
-
Peonies symbolize love, loyalty, and encouragement.—
Lisa Stardust,
PEOPLE,
9 May 2026
-
Sabalenka was furious, asking her team to give her some encouragement.—
Charlie Eccleshare,
New York Times,
9 May 2026
Verb
-
Pratt slammed the city’s permitting problems.—
Samantha Masunaga,
Los Angeles Times,
17 May 2026
-
Hernandez will continue competing under CIF rules permitting transgender participation and is scheduled to compete Saturday, May 16, before advancing to the CIF finals in Clovis later this month.—
Alejandro Avila OutKick,
FOXNews.com,
15 May 2026
Noun
-
On Facebook and Instagram, the video is shown as a collaboration post with Drink De Soi, a nonalcoholic beverage line cofounded by Perry, suggesting the video could be a promotion for the brand.—
Edward Segarra,
USA Today,
13 May 2026
-
After around three years of conflict with workers, Taylor had succeeded in dramatically increasing productivity and was rewarded with a promotion to foreman of the shop.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
12 May 2026
Cite this Entry
“Enabling.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/enabling. Accessed 19 May. 2026.
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