enforce

English

Alternative forms

• inforce (obsolete)

Etymology

From Old French enforcier, from Late Latin infortiāre, from in- + fortis ‎(“strong”).

Pronunciation

• (UK) IPA^(key): /ɪnˈfɔːs/
• Rhymes: -ɔː(ɹ)s

Verb

enforce ‎(third-person singular simple present enforces, present participle enforcing, simple past and past participle enforced)

1. (obsolete, transitive) To strengthen (a castle, town etc.) with extra troops, fortifications etc. [14^th-18^thc.]
2. (obsolete, transitive) To intensify, make stronger, add force to. [14^th-18^thc.]
3. (obsolete, reflexive) To exert oneself, to try hard. [14^th-17^thc.]
   • 1485, Sir Thomas Malory, Le Morte d’Arthur, Bk.VII:

     I pray you enforce youreselff at that justis that ye may be beste, for my love.

4. To give strength or force to; to affirm, to emphasize. [from 15^thc.]

   The victim was able to enforce his evidence against the alleged perpetrator.

5. (archaic) To compel, oblige (someone or something); to force. [from 16^thc.]
   • 1621, Robert Burton, The Anatomy of Melancholy, I.2.4.iv:

     Uladislaus the Second, King of Poland, and Peter Dunnius, Earl of Shrine […] had been hunting late, and were enforced to lodge in a poor cottage.

   • 1899, E. OE. Somerville and Martin Ross, Some Experiences of an Irish R.M., Great Uncle McCarthy:

     In a few minutes I was stealthily groping my way down my own staircase, with a box of matches in my hand, enforced by scientific curiosity, but none the less armed with a stick.

6. To keep up, impose or bring into effect something, not necessarily by force. [from 17^thc.]

   The police are there to enforce the law.

7. (obsolete) To make or gain by force; to force.

   to enforce a passage

   • Spenser

     enforcing furious way

8. (obsolete) To put in motion or action by violence; to drive.
   • Shakespeare

     As swift as stones / Enforced from the old Assyrian slings.

9. (obsolete) To give force to; to strengthen; to invigorate; to urge with energy.

   to enforce arguments or requests

   • Burke

     enforcing sentiment of the thrust humanity

10. (obsolete) To urge; to ply hard; to lay much stress upon.
    • Shakespeare

      Enforce him with his envy to the people.

11. To prove; to evince.

    (Can we find and add a quotation of Hooker to this entry?)

Derived terms

• enforcer
• enforcement

Translations

to strengthen

• Bulgarian: укрепявам (bg) ‎(ukrepjavam)
• Dutch: versterken (nl)

• Finnish: vahvistaa (fi)
• Romanian: întări (ro)

to intensify

• Finnish: vahvistaa (fi)

to exert

• German: durchsetzen (de)

• Romanian: obliga (ro)

to affirm

• Bulgarian: настоявам (bg) ‎(nastojavam)

• Finnish: vahvistaa (fi)

to compel

• Bulgarian: принуждавам (bg) ‎(prinuždavam)

to keep up

• Bulgarian: налагам (bg) ‎(nalagam)
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 實施 (zh), 執行 (zh)

• Czech: prosazovat, vynucovat
• Dutch: handhaven (nl)
• Finnish: valvoa (fi)

The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables, removing any numbers. Numbers do not necessarily match those in definitions. See instructions at Help:How to check translations.

Translations to be checked

• German: durchsetzen (1), bekräftigen

• Spanish: ^{(please verify)} imponer (es) (1)