allow

Meaning

1. (ditransitive) To let one have as a suitable share of something.
2. (catenative, transitive) To permit, to give permission to.
3. To not bar or obstruct.
4. (transitive) To acknowledge, accept the truth of; to concede; to accede to an opinion.
5. (transitive) To grant (something) as a deduction or an addition; especially to abate or deduct.
6. (transitive) To make an allowance, to take into account when making plans.
7. (transitive) To render physically possible.
8. (obsolete, transitive) To praise; to approve of; hence, to sanction.
9. (obsolete) To sanction; to invest; to entrust.
10. (obsolete, transitive) To like; to be suited or pleased with.
11. (transitive) To decide (a request) in favour of the party who raised it; to grant victory to a party regarding (a request).
12. (Multicultural-London-English, transitive) To forgo bothering with, to let slide.

Synonyms

permit

let

grant

admit

leave

consent

approve

concede

give

accept

🉑

agree

yield

accord

provide

afford

tolerate

give permission

authorize

release

sanction

countenance

confer

acknowledge

assent

cede

suffer

license

vouchsafe

take into account

assign

appropriate

clear

supply

reserve

render

allow for

allot

earmark

hand over

set aside

bestow

endorse

deliver

administer

consent to

give up

abandon

pass

confess

receive

Translations

permettre

permitir

permettere

laisser

erlauben

permitir

dejar

toelaten

gestatten

lasciare

toestaan

permetre

autoriser

επιτρέπω

izin vermek

Pronounced as (IPA)

/əˈlaʊ/

Etymology

Inherited from Middle English: allowen

Cognate with German: erlauben

In summary

From Middle English allowen, alowen, a borrowing from Anglo-Norman allouer, alouer, from Medieval Latin allaudāre, merged with alouer, from Medieval Latin allocō (“to assign”). Doublet of allaud (via allaudāre) or allocate (via allocāre).
The similarity with Middle English alyfen (from Old English ālīefan) and German erlauben, both from Proto-Germanic *uzlaubijaną (“to allow”) is coincidental.

Sentences

Storage pools allow for the grouping of disks within a file system .

Previous to this , Mengistu intended to allow emigration only in exchange for weaponry .