Meanings
plural empowerments
- The achievement of political, social or economic power by an individual or group.
Hence, the anonymity that digital technological tools can provide ultimately leads to empowerment of student opinion and input.
2017, Di Zou, James Lambert, “Feedback methods for student voice in the digital age”, in British Journal of Educational Technology, volume 48, number 5, page 1087 - The process of supporting another person or persons to discover and claim personal power.
Nevertheless, Bumble, the dating app which once styled itself as a beacon of women’s empowerment because heterosexual women had to make the first move, appears to have missed the memo.
2024 May 21, Arwa Mahdawi, “Sex-positive feminism had its moment – and now it has been replaced by voluntary celibacy”, in The Guardian, →ISSN, archived from the original on 28 Jun 20241 more example
The new model, by contrast, is about empowerment. It’s about listening, not talking. It’s about compassion, empathy and humility. It’s about understanding that power is amplified when it’s shared.
2021 March 4, Francesca Donner, “What Makes a Good Leader, and Who Gets to Be One?”, in The New York Times, →ISSN, archived from the original on 15 Mar 2021 - South AfricaGovernment programs encouraging advancement of blacks.
Synonyms & antonyms
nounthe act of conferring legality or sanction or formal warrant
Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.
Origin
- Proto-Indo-European*h₁én
- Proto-Italic*en
- Proto-Italic*en-
- Latinin-
- Old Frenchen-
- Middle Englishen-
- Englishem-
- Proto-Indo-European*pótis
- Proto-Italic*potis
- Proto-Indo-European*h₁es-
- Proto-Indo-European*h₁ésti
- Proto-Indo-European*bʰuH-
- Proto-Indo-European*bʰúHt
- Proto-Italic*som
- Proto-Italic*possom
- Latinposse
- Vulgar Latinpotēre
- Old Frenchpooir
- Anglo-Normanpoer
- Middle Englishpower
- Englishpower
- Englishempower
- Englishempowerment
Translations
Arabic تَمْكِين, تَمْكِين
- تَمْكِين (tamkīn)granting of power
- تَمْكِين (tamkīn)state of being empowered
Catalan apoderament
- apoderamentgranting of power
Esperanto plenpovo
- plenpovostate of being empowered
Estonian volitus, volitamine
- volitusgranting of power
- volitaminegranting of power
- võimestusstate of being empowered
- võimestuminestate of being empowered
Finnish voimaantuminen, valtaistuminen
- voimaantuminengranting of power
- valtaistuminengranting of power
French autonomisation
- autonomisationgranting of power
German Empowerment, Ermächtigung
- Empowermentgranting of power
- Ermächtigunggranting of power
- Bevollmächtigunggranting of power
Greek ενίσχυση, ενδυνάμωση
- ενίσχυση (eníschysi)granting of power
- ενδυνάμωση (endynámosi)granting of power
Hindi शक्तीकरण m सशक्तीकरण
- शक्तीकरण m सशक्तीकरण (śaktīkraṇ)granting of power
Indonesian pemberdayaan
- pemberdayaangranting of power
Italian conferimento di potere, controllo
- conferimento di poteregranting of power
- controllogranting of power
- responsabilizzazionestate of being empowered
- emancipazionestate of being empowered
Malay pendayaupayaan
- pendayaupayaangranting of power
Māori whakamanatanga, whakamanatanga
- whakamanatangagranting of power
- whakamanatangastate of being empowered
Norwegian fullmakt, myndighet
- fullmaktgranting of power
- myndighetgranting of power
Portuguese empoderamento, empoderamento
- empoderamentogranting of power
- empoderamentostate of being empowered
Spanish empoderamiento
- empoderamientogranting of power
Swedish bemyndigande, fullmakt
- bemyndigandegranting of power
- fullmaktgranting of power
Cite this entry
empowerment. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 4, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/empowerment
“empowerment.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/empowerment. Accessed November 4, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “empowerment,” accessed November 4, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/empowerment.
Source: empowerment on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.