ermächtigen
German, verb/ɛɐ̯ˈmɛçtɪɡn̩/
ermächtigen is spelled E-R-M-Ä-C-H-T-I-G-E-N (11 letters) and appears about once in every 4 million words in written German, the 95,383rd most frequent German word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). Ermächtigen is a German verb meaning “to authorize; to empower” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The German Wiktionary defines it as “jemandem das gesetzliche Recht, eine Befugnis (Macht, Vollmacht) geben, eine Handlung durchzuführen”.
What does ermächtigen mean in English?
verb
- 1
to authorize; to empower
- 2
to achieve command, to obtain control
- 3
to gain influence (especially involving strong feelings)
Source: English Wiktionary, German section, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0).
How German dictionaries define it
verb: 1. jemandem das gesetzliche Recht, eine Befugnis (Macht, Vollmacht) geben, eine Handlung durchzuführen 2. über eine Person Einfluss (Macht) erlangen
The definition in the German Wiktionary, in German.
Source: German Wiktionary, dump of September 1, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org.
Forms of ermächtigen
- ermächtigt present singular third-person
- ermächtigte past
- haben auxiliary
- ermächtigend participle present
- ermächtige first-person indicative present
- ermächtigst indicative present second-person
- ermächtigest second-person singular subjunctive
- ermächtiget plural second-person subjunctive
- ermächtigten first-person indicative plural
- ermächtigtest indicative preterite second-person
- ermächtigtet indicative plural preterite
- ermächtig imperative second-person singular
- habe ermächtigt first-person indicative multiword-construction
- haben ermächtigt first-person indicative multiword-construction
- ermächtig! imperative singular
- ermächtige! imperative singular
- ermächtigt! imperative plural
- ermächtigt haben active infinitive perfect
Source: English Wiktionary and German Wiktionary (dumps of September 2, 2026 and September 1, 2026).
How do you pronounce ermächtigen?
- /ɛɐ̯ˈmɛçtɪɡn̩/
- [ɛɐ̯ˈmɛçtɪɡn̩]
Sources: English Wiktionary, German Wiktionary (dumps of September 2, 2026 and September 1, 2026); recordings from Wikimedia Commons.
English words that translate to ermächtigen
Source: the translation tables of the English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026.
How common is ermächtigen in German?
ermächtigen appears about once in every 4 million words in written German.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).