Reenable

Part of speech: verb

Definitions

1. To restore the capability or permission to use or activate something that was previously disabled or deactivated
2. To reestablish functionality or access that had been turned off or suspended, allowing operations to resume
3. To make operable again by reversing a prior restriction or shutdown, thus permitting renewed use or engagement

Etymology: "Reenable" is a plain formation: the prefix "re-" ("again") attached to "enable," so the verb means to make something operable again after it has been disabled. The prefix has a long pedigree, traceable back through Latin "re-" to a Proto-Italic root, but the combination itself is modern in spirit and needs no special story. "Enable" is the more interesting half. It was built in Middle English from "en-," a prefix meaning "to make," and "able," meaning "capable" or "having the power to do something," giving the sense "to make able." That is why "enable" carries the idea of granting a capacity rather than simply turning something on. "Reenable" inherits that sense and adds the idea of restoring it, which is why it suits software features, accounts, and settings that were earlier switched off.

Synonyms: reactivate, restore, reestablish, reinstate, renew

Antonyms: disable, deactivate, suspend, inactivate, disallow