enforcement
en·force·ment/ɪnˈfoɹsm(ə)nt/noun
enforcement is a noun meaning “The act of enforcing; compulsion” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). It is spelled E-N-F-O-R-C-E-M-E-N-T and has 3 syllables (en·force·ment), and it appears 28 times per million words in written English (wordfreq, 2021 data). The plural of enforcement is enforcements.
What does enforcement mean?
noun
- 1
The act of enforcing; compulsion.
- 2
A giving force to; a putting in execution.
- 3
That which enforces, constraints, gives force, authority, or effect to; constraint; force applied.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
How do you pronounce enforcement?
- UK /ɪnˈfɔːsm(ə)nt/
- UK /ɛn-/
- US /ɪnˈfoɹsm(ə)nt/
Enforcement has 3 syllables, split en·force·ment in writing.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: LL-Q1860_(eng)-Vealhurl-enforcement.wav, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Forms of enforcement
- enforcements plural
- inforcement
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
How common is enforcement?
Enforcement appears 28 times per million words in written English, the 3,288th most frequent word form in the list.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
Enforcement in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
In the sense act of enforcing; compulsion:
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| German | Vollstreckung, Durchsetzung |
| Portuguese | aplicação, cumprimento, coerção, imposição, observação, execução |
| Spanish | enforzamiento |
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.
Where does enforcement come from?
From Old French enforcement, see enforce + -ment.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).