disempower

verb

dis·​em·​pow·​er ˌdis-im-ˈpau̇(-ə)r How to pronounce disempower (audio)
disempowered; disempowering; disempowers

transitive verb

: to deprive of power, authority, or influence : make weak, ineffectual, or unimportant
disempowerment noun

Examples of disempower in a Sentence

They have been disempowered by a society that believes they are intellectually inferior.
Recent Examples on the Web Simone Browne has described its racial and racist dimensions, and Karen Levy and others have examined how digital monitoring can discipline and disempower workers. Ben Tarnoff, The New Yorker, 5 Oct. 2024 The term has been popularized by an influential faction within the AI field who are concerned that trying to build machines as smart as humans might disempower or destroy humanity. Cat Zakrzewski, Washington Post, 12 July 2024 Beginning in the Obama administration, however, Chevron fell out of favor with the legal right, and the Federalist Society’s annual lawyers’ convention became a showcase of proposals seeking to disempower the administrative state. Ian Millhiser, Vox, 28 June 2024 Aren’t red-lining, Jim Crow laws, discriminatory farming subsidies, the practical exclusion of Black veterans from GI benefits, gerrymandering to disempower Black voters, not to mention legalized slavery, etc., part of the true complete history of our great nation? Reader Commentary, Baltimore Sun, 18 June 2024 See all Example Sentences for disempower 

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'disempower.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

First Known Use

1813, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of disempower was in 1813

Dictionary Entries Near disempower

Cite this Entry

“Disempower.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/disempower. Accessed 31 Oct. 2024.

Kids Definition

disempower

verb
dis·​em·​pow·​er dis-im-ˈpau̇(-ə)r How to pronounce disempower (audio)
: to keep one from having authority, power, or influence : make weak or unimportant
disempowerment noun

More from Merriam-Webster on disempower

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