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
The extreme sacrifice that drives the exploding ants spotlights nature’s ability to enable survival at all costs.
—
Scott Travers, Forbes.com, 5 Apr. 2025
Indians generally revere elephants and tolerate a great deal of hardship to enable coexistence—about 500 humans are killed due to human-elephant conflict annually there.
—Nitin Sekar, ArsTechnica, 5 Apr. 2025
In April 2022, prosecutors say Santos falsely reported a $500,000 personal loan to his campaign, enabling him to boast an $800,000 Q1 fundraising haul.
—Jason Volack, ABC News, 5 Apr. 2025
The misfortune of Lewis, Haskell’s son, led to a change in South Carolina law and later to a national requirement for hospitals to enable patients to demand emergency responses under certain circumstances.
—Arthur Allen, CNN Money, 4 Apr. 2025
See All Example Sentences for enable
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
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Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
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Scott Travers, Forbes.com, 5 Apr. 2025
Indians generally revere elephants and tolerate a great deal of hardship to enable coexistence—about 500 humans are killed due to human-elephant conflict annually there.
—Nitin Sekar, ArsTechnica, 5 Apr. 2025
In April 2022, prosecutors say Santos falsely reported a $500,000 personal loan to his campaign, enabling him to boast an $800,000 Q1 fundraising haul.
—Jason Volack, ABC News, 5 Apr. 2025
The misfortune of Lewis, Haskell’s son, led to a change in South Carolina law and later to a national requirement for hospitals to enable patients to demand emergency responses under certain circumstances.
—Arthur Allen, CNN Money, 4 Apr. 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 13 Apr. 2025.
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