enable

B2 · Upper Intermediate Computing Technical

v. to turn on a specific function or setting on a computer, phone, or machine.

v. to activate or make a specific electronic or mechanical function operational.

“You need to enable cookies in your browser settings to view this website.”

“The administrator must enable the remote-access protocol before the engineering team can troubleshoot the server from the branch office.”

C1 · Advanced Formal

v. to make it easier for someone to continue doing something harmful or wrong, often by helping them too much.

v. to behave in a manner that facilitates or encourages another person's destructive or problematic behaviour, often unintentionally.

“By paying his debts, his parents were actually enabling his gambling habit.”

“Psychologists argue that by constantly making excuses for his outbursts, the staff were enabling his toxic leadership style rather than addressing the root cause.”