allow

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1. This verb matches admit in having a wide range of common uses, transitive and intransitive, with that-clauses, and with an infinitive complement. For several centuries it has alternated in many meanings with the phrasal verb allow of; some of these meanings are now obsolete, but one has survived, presumably to avoid ambiguity with allow = 'permit, authorize', although it sounds old-fashioned (e.g.

Jortin is willing to allow of [= accept as valid] other miracles—J. R. Lowell, 1849).

2. In the meanings 'to acknowledge, concede', allow followed by a clause has been in continuous use since the 17th century (e.g.

I suppose it will be allowed us that marriage is a human society—Milton, 1643

'You know best, Captain,' Hugh Macroon allowed with grave courtesy—Compton Mackenzie, 1947

Kerry never allowed that perhaps the greatest failure has been that of Nato countries to provide the peacekeepers they had promised—weblog, British English 2002 [Old English (up to 1150)C]).

3. The construction allow as how, meaning 'to state as an opinion, have to admit that' is restricted to American English and dialect uses

(She allowed as how my old friend J. J. was flying on Monday morning—N. Thornburg, 1976

He allowed as how she was faithful—T. Morrison, 1981).

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verb

1. To neither forbid nor prevent: have, let, permit, suffer, tolerate. See allow/prevent.
2. To give one's consent to: approbate, approve, authorize, consent, endorse, let, permit, sanction. Informal OK. See allow/prevent.
3. To afford an opportunity for: admit, let, permit. See allow/prevent.
4. To set aside or distribute as a share: admeasure, allocate, allot, apportion, assign, give, lot, measure out, mete (out). See collect/distribute.
5. To recognize, often reluctantly, the reality or truth of: acknowledge, admit, avow, concede, confess, grant, own (up). Slang fess up. See affirm/deny/argue, knowledge/ignorance.

v

Definition: admit; acknowledge
Antonyms: deny, refuse, reject

v

Definition: permit (action)
Antonyms: deny, disallow, disapprove, forbid, prohibit, protest, refuse, reject, resist, withstand

v

Definition: set aside
Antonyms: hold, keep

On drawings, abbr. for “allowance.”

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IN BRIEF: Give permission; permit.

Allow yourself to be inspired. Allow yourself to succeed. Dare to excel. — Vince Dente

Tutor's tip: If your friends "allow" (permit) you to use their "aloe" (plant whose juice is used medicinally), you'll feel better soon. To go "alow" is a nautical term that means below the deck.

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For a list of words related to allow, see:

• Questions and Answers - allow: Informal. suppose to be; admit

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See words rhyming with "allow."

  See crossword solutions for the clue Allow.

Dansk (Danish)
v. tr. - tillade, give lov til, tildele, give
v. intr. - tage i betragtning, regne med

idioms:

• allow for    tillade, åbne mulighed for, give mulighed for
• allow me    tillad mig, nu skal jeg, må jeg få lov
• allow oneself    tillade sig

Nederlands (Dutch)
toelaten, toegeven, toekennen, beweren

Français (French)
v. tr. - permettre, admettre, autoriser, tolérer, souffrir, accorder, allouer, (Comm) faire bénéficier qn de, consentir (une remise), reconnaître, convenir que
v. intr. - permettre, admettre, accorder

idioms:

• allow for    tenir compte de, déduire pour, ajouter pour, parer à
• allow me    permettez-moi
• allow oneself    se permettre

Deutsch (German)
v. - zulassen, zugeben

idioms:

• allow for    berücksichtigen
• allow me    gestatten Sie
• allow oneself    sich leisten

Ελληνική (Greek)
v. - επιτρέπω, αφήνω, παραδέχομαι, αναγνωρίζω, χορηγώ, παρέχω, καθιστώ δυνατό

idioms:

• allow for    λαμβάνω υπόψη, κάνω πρόβλεψη για, αφήνω περιθώρια για
• allow me    επιτρέψτε μου (να βοηθήσω)
• allow oneself    επιτρέπω στον εαυτό μου

Italiano (Italian)
permettere, convenire

idioms:

• allow for    tenere presente
• allow me    permettetemi
• allow oneself    permettersi

Português (Portuguese)
v. - permitir, concordar

idioms:

• allow for    dar mais tempo ou dinheiro para resolver algo
• allow me    permita-me (fazer algo por alguém)
• allow oneself    permitir a si mesmo

Русский (Russian)
позволять, разрешать, признать

idioms:

• allow for    учитывать, включать в расчет
• allow me    позвольте мне
• allow oneself    позволять себе

Español (Spanish)
v. tr. - permitir, tolerar, dejar, conceder, autorizar, admitir, dar
v. intr. - permitirse, tolerarse, dejarse, concederse, autorizarse, admitirse, darse, dar permiso, otorgar una concesión o autorización

idioms:

• allow for    tener en cuenta, dejar un margen para
• allow me    ¡permítame!
• allow oneself    permitirse, darse el placer de

Svenska (Swedish)
v. - tillåta, anslå, godkänna

中文（简体）(Chinese (Simplified))
允许, 承认, 同意给予, 考虑, 体谅, 容许

idioms:

• allow for    考虑到
• allow me    请允许我
• allow oneself    宽容自己

中文（繁體）(Chinese (Traditional))
v. tr. - 允許, 承認, 同意給予
v. intr. - 考慮, 體諒, 容許

idioms:

• allow for    考慮到
• allow me    請允許我
• allow oneself    寬容自己

한국어 (Korean)
v. tr. - 허락하다, 지급하다, ~이라고 생각하다, 빼다
v. intr. - 허락하다, ~할 여지가 있다

idioms:

• allow for    참작하다, 준비하다
• allow oneself    ~에 빠지다

日本語 (Japanese)
v. - 許す, 与える, 認める, 見込む, 値引きする, 斟酌する, 余地がある, 差し引く

idioms:

• allow for    考慮に入れる
• allow me    ～させて下さい
• allow oneself    ふける

العربيه (Arabic)
‏(فعل) يسمح, يجيز, يخصص, يترك‏

עברית (Hebrew)
v. tr. - ‮הרשה, קיבל, נתן, הקציב, הודה, הסכים‬
v. intr. - ‮היה בדעה ש-, לקח בחשבון, ניכה או הוסיף לפי‬

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