different between enable vs admit

English

Etymology

From Middle English enablen, equivalent to en- +? able.

Pronunciation

• (General American, Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /??ne?b?l/
• Rhymes: -e?b?l

Verb

enable (third-person singular simple present enables, present participle enabling, simple past and past participle enabled)

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.
   • 1611, King James Bible, "1 Tim. i. 12"

     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.

   Synonyms: empower, endow

2. To affirm; to make firm and strong.
3. To qualify or approve for some role or position; to render sanction or authorization to; to confirm suitability for.

   Synonyms: let, permit, authorize

4. To yield the opportunity or provide the possibility for something; to provide with means, opportunities, and the like.

   Synonym: allow

   • 1711, October 13, Joseph Addison, The Spectator, number 195

     Temperance gives Nature her full play, and enables her to exert herself in all her force and vigor.

   • April 16, 2018, Norimitsu Onishi and Selam Gebrekidan writing in The New York Times, ‘They Eat Money’: How Mandela’s Political Heirs Grow Rich Off Corruption
   • 2009, Meribeth A. Dayme, Dynamics of the Singing Voice, Springer Science & Business Media, p. 174:

     Trainers of modern athletes monitor performance by using high tech equipment and biometric bodysuits with embedded sensors to enable detailed analysis of movement, balance, efficiency for athletic performance.

5. To imply or tacitly confer excuse for an action or a behavior.

6. (electronics) To put a circuit element into action by supplying a suitable input pulse.
7. (chiefly electronics, computing) To activate, to make operational (especially of a function of an electronic or mechanical device).

   Synonyms: activate, turn on

   Antonym: disable

Derived terms

• enabler
• enablement
• re-enable
• reenable

Translations

Further reading

• enable in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, G. & C. Merriam, 1913.
• enable in The Century Dictionary, New York, N.Y.: The Century Co., 1911.
• enable at OneLook Dictionary Search

Anagrams

• baleen

English

Etymology

From Middle English admitten, amitten, borrowed from Old French admettre, amettre (“to admit”), from Latin admitt? (“to allow entrance, inlet”, literally “to send to”), from ad- + mittere (“to send”).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /?d?m?t/
• Rhymes: -?t

Verb

admit (third-person singular simple present admits, present participle admitting, simple past and past participle admitted)

1. (transitive) To allow to enter; to grant entrance (to), whether into a place, into the mind, or into consideration

2. (transitive) To allow (someone) to enter a profession or to enjoy a privilege; to recognize as qualified for a franchise.

3. (transitive) To concede as true; to acknowledge or assent to, as an allegation which it is impossible to deny
   • 2011, Kitty Kelley, Nancy Reagan: The Unauthorized Biography (?ISBN):

     His sister, Patti, also admitted taking drugs, […]

   Synonyms: own up, confess

4. (transitive) To be capable of; to permit. In this sense, "of" may be used after the verb, or may be omitted.
5. (intransitive) To give warrant or allowance, to grant opportunity or permission (+ of).

6. (transitive) To allow to enter a hospital or similar facility for treatment.

Usage notes

In the sense "concede to be true", this is a catenative verb that takes the gerund (-ing). See Appendix:English catenative verbs

Synonyms

• (to allow entry to): inlet, let in
• (to recognise as true): acknowledge, own

Derived terms

Related terms

• admissible
• admission
• mission

Translations

French

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ad.mi/

Verb

admit

1. third-person singular past historic of admettre