Other forms: enabled, enabling, enables
To enable is to make something possible that was not before. Enable the feature, enable them to work, enabling legislation.
In technology it is the standard opposite of disable — enable the setting, enable two-factor authentication — and it is one of the most-clicked words in software. In policy, enabling legislation is a law that grants a power rather than exercising it. Note that in the language of addiction, to enable somebody is to make their harmful behaviour easier, which is a criticism and the opposite of help.
1verbenableTo make something possible that was not before.
“The new ramp enables wheelchair users to get into the museum.”
2verbturnTo turn a setting on.
“You'll need to enable location services on your phone to use the map.”
enable is a making possible.
Also accepted in games: allow
En- plus able, formed in Middle English. The en- prefix that makes verbs from adjectives gives enrich, enlarge and enable the same way, from Latin in.
Middle English
enablen
English, today
enable
From Middle English enablen, equivalent to en + able.
Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA
Practised in Sharper Verbs