Definitions
from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.
- transitive verb To compel observance of or obedience to.
- transitive verb To impose (a kind of behavior, for example).
- transitive verb To give force to; reinforce.
from The Century Dictionary.
- noun Force; strength; power.
- To increase the force or strength of; make strong; strengthen; fortify.
- To urge or impress with force or energy; make forcible, clear, or intelligible: as, to
enforce remarks or arguments. - To gain or extort by force or compulsion; compel: as, to
enforce obedience. - To put or keep in force; compel obedience to; cause to be executed or performed: as, to
enforce laws or rules. - To discharge with force; hurl; throw.
- To impel; constrain; force.
- To press or urge, as with a charge.
- To prove; evince.
- To force; violate; ravish.
- Reflexively, to strain one's self; put forth one's greatest exertion.
- Synonyms Extort, etc. See
exact , v. t. - To grow strong; become fierce or active; increase.
- To strive; exert one's self.
- To make headway.
from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.
- intransitive verb obsolete To attempt by force.
- intransitive verb rare To prove; to evince.
- intransitive verb obsolete To strengthen; to grow strong.
- noun obsolete Force; strength; power.
- transitive verb To put force upon; to force; to constrain; to compel.
- transitive verb To make or gain by force; to obtain by force.
- transitive verb To put in motion or action by violence; to drive.
- transitive verb To give force to; to strengthen; to invigorate; to urge with energy.
- transitive verb To put in force; to cause to take effect; to give effect to; to execute with vigor.
- transitive verb To urge; to ply hard; to lay much stress upon.
from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.
- verb compel to behave in a certain way
- verb ensure observance of laws and rules
Etymologies
from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License
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Examples
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Be easy to enforce from a small fixed wing aircraft.
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Be easy to enforce from a small fixed wing aircraft.
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The Obama administration won a temporary stay against the moratorium on "don't ask, don't tell" Wednesday, granting the Pentagon the right to once again enforce the 17-year-old ban on gay men and women serving openly in the military.
Military wins temporary reprieve for 'don't ask' policy Ed O'Keefe 2010
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A three judge panel on the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals on Wednesday issued a temporary stay on a moratorium of the military's "don't ask, don't tell" law, meaning the Pentagon can once again enforce the 17-year ban on gays in the military while the Justice Department prepares an appeal.
Appeals court grants stay of 'don't ask' injunction Ed O 2010
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• Military wins temporary reprieve for 'don't ask' policy: The Obama administration won a temporary stay against the moratorium on "don't ask, don't tell" Wednesday, granting the Pentagon the right to once again enforce the 17-year-old ban on gay men and women serving openly in the military.
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The Obama administration won a temporary stay against the moratorium on "don't ask, don't tell" Wednesday, granting the Pentagon the right to once again enforce the 17-year-old ban on gay men and women serving openly in the military.
Military wins temporary reprieve for 'don't ask' policy Ed O'Keefe 2010
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The executive has to set priorities and if a law that makes sick people sicker, puts honest people in jail, costs a lot of money, has almost no discernible benefits, and that you promised not to enforce is not a good candidate for the bottom of the pile, what is?
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The military can once again enforce the 17-year gay ban after a three-judge panel on Wednesday issued a temporary stay of an injunction on the law and policy until the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals can further consider appeals by the Obama administration.
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The other rule to enforce is that no one could say anything negative about the other person's credentials or personality only their plans on the issues.
Clinton challenges Obama to Lincoln-Douglas style debate 2008
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The idea that schools have the job of enforcing what family or society can; t enforce is a dangerous one.
Tory nutjobs 2008
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