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Enable
Definitions
- 1 To make somebody able (to do, or to be, something); to give sufficient ability or power to do or to be; to give strength or ability to.
"And I thank Christ Jesus our Lord, who hath enabled me, for that he counted me faithful, putting me into the ministry; who was before a blasphemer, and a persecutor, and injurious: but I obtained mercy, because I did it ignorantly in unbelief."
- 2 render capable or able for some task wordnet
- 3 To affirm; to make firm and strong.
- 4 To qualify or approve for some role or position; to render sanction or authorization to; to confirm suitability for.
"This was widely interpreted to mean that slavery was once more firmly illegal in England. However, the "positive law" mentioned–i.e., a direct law specifically enabling slavery–existed in many British colonies (although not all), since these colonies had a degree of freedom to write their own law apart from that of the home country."
- 5 To yield the opportunity or provide the possibility for something; to provide with means, opportunities, and the like.
"Temperance gives Nature her full play, and enables her to exert herself in all her force and vigor."
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- 6 To imply or tacitly confer excuse for an action or a behavior.
"His parents enabled him to go on buying drugs."
- 7 To put a circuit element into action by supplying a suitable input pulse.
- 8 To activate, to make operational (especially of a function of an electronic or mechanical device).
Etymology
From Middle English enablen, equivalent to en- + able.
See also for "enable"
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