Meaning & use
enforced
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“enforced” is a form of “enforce”. See that entry for the full set of meanings.
Meanings
verbtransitive
Past tense and past participle of enforce: made people obey a rule, law, or agreement.
Grammar: Regular past tense of enforce; takes an object: enforced the law.
Patterns
- enforced a law
- enforced a rule
- strictly enforced
The police enforced the new traffic regulations strictly.
The ban on smoking was enforced in all public buildings.
adjectivebefore a noun
Kept in force by authority; imposed and made to be obeyed.
Grammar: Used before a noun: enforced rules, enforced silence.
Patterns
- enforced law
- enforced absence
- enforced silence
The enforced silence in the library made everyone uncomfortable.
They lived under an enforced curfew for three months.
Word forms
| third person singular | enforces |
|---|---|
| past tense | enforced |
| past participle | enforced |
| present participle | enforcing |
Common combinations
- enforce the law
- It is the job of the police to enforce the law.
- strictly enforced
- The rules are strictly enforced in this school.
- enforce a ban
- The government decided to enforce a ban on plastic bags.
- enforce a contract
- The court can enforce a contract if one party breaks it.
Synonyms and how they differ
- implement
- Implement means to put a plan or system into action; enforce means to make people obey it.
- impose
- Impose means to officially force something to be accepted; enforce focuses on making sure it is obeyed.
Opposites
Word family
- enforce verb
- To make people obey a rule or law.
- enforcement noun
- The act of making people obey a rule or law.
- enforceable adjective
- Able to be enforced; capable of being made to be obeyed.
- enforcer noun
- A person who makes sure rules are obeyed.
Commonly confused: enforced or inforced?
enforced vs inforced
Inforced is a misspelling; the correct spelling is enforced.
Practice
Choose the correct sentence:
Choose one answer.
Enforced is the past participle used in passive voice. Enforcing is the present participle, enforce is the base form, and enforces is third person singular, none of which fit the passive construction 'are ... by'.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “enforced”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.