enabling clause
n · noun
Simple meaning
In 1979, as part of the Tokyo Round of the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade.
Pronunciation
Say it like this:
ehnaybuhlihngklawzSay the bold part a little louder.
IPA pronunciation (US)
ɛˈneɪbəlɪŋkˈlɔz
This word is pronounced essentially the same in American and British English, so one transcription covers both.
IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) is a standard way of writing speech sounds.
Definition
Everyday modern meanings first, grouped by part of speech.
n
In 1979, as part of the Tokyo Round of the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade, the enabling clause was adopted in order to permit trading preferences targeted at developing and least developed countries which would otherwise violate Article I of the GATT.
noun
A provision in a law that confers on appropriate officials the power to implement or enforce the law
Word Aura™
How this word commonly comes across.
Aura for this meaning
This meaning: In 1979, as part of the Tokyo Round of the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade, the enabling clause was adopted in order to permit trading preferences targeted at developing and least developed countries which would otherwise violate Article I of the GATT.
Used this way, enabling clause is a specialist word that usually carries little praise or criticism of its own. This is a grammar or language-study use: it describes how language works, so it appears in teaching and reference writing.
- Emotional tone
- Neutral
- Formality
- Specialist/technical
- Intensity
- Not strongly marked
- How common
- Specialized
- Connotation
- Clinical and technical
- Usage feel
- Technical and specialized
Where it naturally appears
- Academic writing
- Education/classroom
- Technical/specialist writing
Usage note
In general conversation this sense usually needs explaining — outside its field, people reach for a plainer word.
Word Aura describes common impressions, not a measurement. Tone changes with sentence, speaker, relationship and situation.
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