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Empower vs Support - What's the difference?

empower | support |

In transitive terms the difference between empower and support

is that empower is to give someone more confidence and/or strength to do something, often by enabling them to increase their control over their own life or situation while support is to be accountable for, or involved with, but not responsible for.

As a noun support is

something which supports. Often used attributively, as a complement or supplement to.

empower

English

Alternative forms

* empowre (archaic) * impower (archaic) * impowre (obsolete)

Verb

(en verb)
  • To give permission, power, or the legal right to do something.
  • * {{quote-book, year=1985, author=William H. Tench, title=Safety is no accident
    • , passage=Regulations have been made under the Civil Aviation Acts of 1949, 1980 and 1982 which empower Inspectors of Accidents to do these things.}}
  • To give someone more confidence and/or strength to do something, often by enabling them to increase their control over their own life or situation.
    • It's not enough to give women and minorities equal rights on paper; they need to be empowered to be able to make use of these rights.
    John found that starting up his own business empowered him greatly in social situations.
  • * {{quote-book, year=1992, author=Nick Logan, title=The Face, page=11-130
    • , passage=Musically, what originally attracted me to dance was its shamanist aspects, using natural magic to change people's neurological states and to psychologically empower them.}}

    Synonyms

    * (give permission to) allow, let, permit * (give confidence to) inspire

    Antonyms

    * (give permission to) ban, bar, forbid, prohibit * (give confidence to) disempower, dishearten, disspirit

    Derived terms

    * empowerment

    support

    English

    Noun

    (en noun)
  • Something which supports. Often used attributively, as a complement or supplement to.
    • Don't move that beam! It's a support for the whole platform.
  • Financial or other help.
    • The government provides support to the arts in several ways.
  • * {{quote-news
    • , year=2011 , date=December 19 , author=Kerry Brown , title=Kim Jong-il obituary , work=The Guardian citation , page= , passage=Kim was educated at the newly founded university in Pyongyang, named after his father, graduating in 1964. The 1960s and early 1970s were the golden years for the DPRK. It undertook rapid industrialisation, economically outstripped its southern competitor, and enjoyed the support of both the People's Republic of China, and the Soviet Union.}}
  • Answers to questions and resolution of problems regarding something sold.
    • Sure they sell the product, but do they provide support ?
  • (mathematics) in relation to a function, the set of points where the function is not zero, or the closure of that set.
  • * 2004 , Amara Graps, An Introduction to Wavelets''] — [http://www.amara.com/IEEEwave/IW_history.html ''Historical Perspective
    • The first mention of wavelets appeared in an appendix to the thesis of A. Haar (1909). One property of the Haar wavelet is that it has compact support, which means that it vanishes outside of a finite interval. Unfortunately, Haar wavelets are not continuously differentiable which somewhat limits their applications.
  • (fuzzy set theory) A set whose elements are at least partially included in a given fuzzy set (i.e., whose grade of membership in that fuzzy set is strictly greater than zero).
    • If the membership function of a fuzzy set is continuous, then that fuzzy set's support is an open set.

    Antonyms

    * (mathematics) kernel

    Derived terms

    * moral support * combat support (military) * support group

    Verb

    (en verb)
  • (senseid)To keep from falling.
    • Don’t move that beam! It supports the whole platform.
  • To answer questions and resolve problems regarding something sold.
    • Sure they sell the product, but do they support it?
  • To back a cause, party etc. mentally or with concrete aid.
    • I support France in the World Cup
  • To help, particularly financially.
    • The government supports the arts in several ways.
  • To verify; to make good; to substantiate; to establish; to sustain.
    • The testimony is not sufficient to support the charges.
    The evidence will not support the statements or allegations.
  • * J. Edwards
    • to urge such arguments, as though they were sufficient to support and demonstrate a whole scheme of moral philosophy
  • To serve, as in a customer-oriented mindset; to give support to.
    • The IT Department supports the research organization, but not the sales force.
    I don't make decisions: I just support those who do.
  • To be accountable for, or involved with, but not responsible for.
    • I support the administrative activities of the executive branch of the organization
  • (archaic) To endure without being overcome; bear; undergo; to tolerate.
  • * Dryden
    • This fierce demeanour and his insolence / The patience of a god could not support .
  • * 1881 , :
    • For a strong affection such moments are worth supporting , and they will end well; for your advocate is in your lover's heart and speaks her own language
  • To assume and carry successfully, as the part of an actor; to represent or act; to sustain.
    • to support the character of King Lear

    Antonyms

    * oppose

    Derived terms

    * supportable * supported * supportive

    Statistics

    * 1000 English basic words ----