enact
Formsenacts, enacting, enacted
- 1To make a bill into law through formal legislative approval.
Parliament moved to enact the reform after months of debate.
The legislature enacted sweeping privacy protections last session.
Similarpass, adopt, approve, ratify
Oppositerepeal, rescind, revoke, abolish
Note
The lawmaker's verb, and the one whose parts spell out its meaning: en-, "to cause to be," joined to act, so to enact a bill is to make it an act. It often appears in the passive ("after the legislation was enacted"), and its object is a bill, a law or a measure. A bill is voted through, but it is enacted only when it takes on the force of law.
- 2To perform the role of a character, as an actor does on stage.
The veteran performer enacted Hamlet for the final time that night.
Students enact historical figures during the museum's living-history weekends.
Similarplay, portray, perform, act
Note
Here act keeps its stage meaning, and the direct object is the role itself rather than a document. Shakespeare uses it this way in Hamlet: "I did enact Julius Caesar." In this sense you enact a character or a part. That separates it from the legislative meaning, where the object is always a bill or law.
- 3To carry something out or bring it about in practice.
The committee enacted reforms that reshaped the entire department.
They struggled to enact the ambitious vision they had outlined.
Similarimplement, execute, effect, realize, accomplish
Note
The broadest use, where enacting means doing or bringing something about. Shakespeare's Richard III has "The king enacts more wonders than a man." Today it usually takes reforms, plans or a vision as its object. With reforms, it can also be read as the lawmaking sense, so the context has to show whether the change was legislated or simply put into practice.
Practice
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Origin
From Middle English enacten, formed from the prefix en- (from Old French en-, 'to cause to be', from Latin in-, 'in') and Old French acte ('perform, do'), which comes from Latin actum, the past participle of ago ('set in motion').