ENFORCE • DICTIONARY ONE.COM • Definition of Enforce

Add this Dictionary
to your website!
See more options...

/ɛnfˈɔrs/ Listen

verb

Enforce v. t. (past & past part. enforced; pres. part. enforcing)

1.

To put force upon; to force; to constrain; to compel; as, to enforce obedience to commands. "Inward joy enforced my heart to smile."

2.

To make or gain by force; to obtain by force; as, to enforce a passage. "Enforcing furious way."

3.

To put in motion or action by violence; to drive. "As swift as stones Enforced from the old Assyrian slings."

4.

To give force to; to strengthen; to invigorate; to urge with energy; as, to enforce arguments or requests. "Enforcing sentiment of the thrust humanity."

5.

To put in force; to cause to take effect; to give effect to; to execute with vigor; as, to enforce the laws.

6.

To urge; to ply hard; to lay much stress upon. "Enforce him with his envy to the people."

Enforce v. i.

1.

To attempt by force. (Obs.)

2.

To prove; to evince. (R.)

3.

To strengthen; to grow strong. (Obs.)

noun

Enforce n. Force; strength; power. (Obs.) "A petty enterprise of small enforce."

See images of 'Enforce'

Etymology of 'Enforce'

Collaborative International Dictionary of English 0.48

Share |

Add this dictionary
to your browser search bar

"Enforce" Quotes from Famous Books

... authority and limitations of the Constitution, invading neither the rights of the States nor the reserved rights of the people, it will be the purpose of my Administration to maintain the authority of the nation in all places within its jurisdiction; to enforce obedience to all the laws of the Union in the interests of the people; to demand rigid economy in all the expenditures of the Government, and to require the honest and faithful service of all executive officers, ...

— United States Presidents' Inaugural Speeches - From Washington to George W. Bush • Various

... incapable of it to profess an undying sentiment which they cannot really feel: thus it is that as that monstrosity of venal lust is no longer possible, so also it is no longer needed. Don't misunderstand me. You did not seemed shocked when I told you that there were no law-courts to enforce contracts of sentiment or passion; but so curiously are men made, that perhaps you will be shocked when I tell you that there is no code of public opinion which takes the place of such courts, ...

— News from Nowhere - or An Epoch of Rest, being some chapters from A Utopian Romance • William Morris

... community would soon bring such a "brave" to the gallows. Some of the agencies by which the belief that wife-stealing and polygamy are honorable was displaced by the modern sentiment in favor of monogamy, will be considered later on. Here I simply wish to enforce the additional moral that not only the ideas regarding bigamy and polygamy have changed, but the emotions aroused by such actions; execration having taken the place of admiration. Judging by such cases, is it likely that ideas ...

— Primitive Love and Love-Stories • Henry Theophilus Finck

... of the kings of France and Spain to extirpate the Protestants. He used this knowledge first to secretly urge the people of the Netherlands to agitate for the removal of the Spanish troops from the country; and although he had secret instructions from Philip to enforce the edicts against all heretics with vigour, he avoided doing so as much as was in his power, and sent private warnings to many whom he knew to be in danger ...

— By Pike and Dyke: A Tale of the Rise of the Dutch Republic • G.A. Henty

... Kettleby opened another tavern, conducted upon the same plan as the former, which he denominated the Seven Cities of Refuge. His subjects, however, were no longer entirely under his control; and, though he managed to enforce some little attention to his commands, it was evident his authority was waning fast. Aware that they would not be allowed to remain long unmolested, the New Minters conducted themselves so outrageously, and with such extraordinary insolence, that measures were at this time being ...

— Jack Sheppard - A Romance • William Harrison Ainsworth

Copyright © 2025 Dictionary One.com