Meaning & use
enabling
Last updated
Giving someone the means, opportunity, or authority to do something; also, unintentionally encouraging harmful behavior by shielding someone from its consequences.
See it in a sentence
New software gave the team enabling tools to work remotely.
Constantly covering for his mistakes was actually an enabling behavior that let the problem continue.
A note on using this word
In psychology and addiction contexts, 'enabling' has a specifically negative sense: helping someone avoid the consequences of harmful behavior.
Words with a similar meaning
facilitating
Choose a synonym to suit the sentence. Meanings can overlap without being identical.
Words with an opposite meaning
hindering
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