disempower

English

Etymology

dis- +‎ empower

Pronunciation

• (UK) IPA^(key): /dɪsɪmˈpaʊ(w)ə(ɹ)/
• Rhymes: -aʊə(ɹ)

Verb

disempower (third-person singular simple present disempowers, present participle disempowering, simple past and past participle disempowered)

1. To strip power from (someone or some group), as:
   1. To remove morale or self-confidence from (someone or some group) to do something.
      • 1990, Editors: Tim Brighouse and Bob Moon, Managing the National Curriculum, Harlow: Longman Group UK Ltd, page 97:

        A powerful head can sometimes disempower the teaching staff, and create among them a sort of passivity that is close to inertia.

      Synonyms: dishearten, dispirit, demoralize, demotivate, enervate

      Antonyms: empower, hearten, inspire, motivate

   2. To remove authority or (official) confidence from (someone or some group) to do something (such as administer a state function), as by demoting, disestablishing, or unincorporating a group.

      The reformation disempowered the established church and thus roiled the aristocracy.

      Antonyms: empower, establish, install

Derived terms

• disempowerment

Related terms

• deenergize
• disenergize
• depower (morphologically similar but (by idiomatic accident) refers semantically only to electrical power, not social power)
• power down
• power off