ALLOW

allow, take into account

(verb) allow or plan for a certain possibility; concede the truth or validity of something; “I allow for this possibility”; “The seamstress planned for 5% shrinkage after the first wash”

allow, appropriate, earmark, set aside, reserve

(verb) give or assign a resource to a particular person or cause; “I will earmark this money for your research”; “She sets aside time for meditation every day”

permit, allow, let, countenance

(verb) consent to, give permission; “She permitted her son to visit her estranged husband”; “I won’t let the police search her basement”; “I cannot allow you to see your exam”

allow, permit, tolerate

(verb) allow the presence of or allow (an activity) without opposing or prohibiting; “We don’t allow dogs here”; “Children are not permitted beyond this point”; “We cannot tolerate smoking in the hospital”

allow, grant

(verb) let have; “grant permission”; “Mandela was allowed few visitors in prison”

allow

(verb) grant as a discount or in exchange; “The camera store owner allowed me $50 on my old camera”

let, allow, permit

(verb) make it possible through a specific action or lack of action for something to happen; “This permits the water to rush in”; “This sealed door won’t allow the water come into the basement”; “This will permit the rain to run off”

leave, allow for, allow, provide

(verb) make a possibility or provide opportunity for; permit to be attainable or cause to remain; “This leaves no room for improvement”; “The evidence allows only one conclusion”; “allow for mistakes”; “leave lots of time for the trip”; “This procedure provides for lots of leeway”

admit, allow

(verb) afford possibility; “This problem admits of no solution”; “This short story allows of several different interpretations”

Source: WordNet® 3.1

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Etymology

Verb

allow (third-person singular simple present allows, present participle allowing, simple past and past participle allowed)

(transitive) To grant, give, admit, accord, afford, or yield; to let one have.

(transitive) To acknowledge; to accept as true; to concede; to accede to an opinion.

(transitive) To grant (something) as a deduction or an addition; especially to abate or deduct.

(transitive) To grant license to; to permit; to consent to.

To not bar or obstruct.

(intransitive) To acknowledge or concede.

(transitive) To take into account by making an allowance.

(transitive) To render physically possible.

(transitive, obsolete) To praise; to approve of; hence, to sanction.

(obsolete) To sanction; to invest; to entrust.

(transitive, obsolete) To like; to be suited or pleased with.

Synonyms

• allot, assign, bestow, concede, admit, let, permit, suffer, tolerate

Source: Wiktionary

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Al*low", v. t. [imp. & p. p. Allowed; p. pr. & vb. n. Allowing.] Etym: [OE. alouen, OF. alouer, aloer, aluer, F. allouer, fr. LL. allocare to admit as proved, to place, use; confused with OF. aloer, fr. L. allaudare to extol; ad + laudare to praise. See Local, and cf. Allocate, Laud.]

1. To praise; to approve of; hence, to sanction. [Obs. or Archaic] Ye allow the deeds of your fathers. Luke xi. 48. We commend his pains, condemn his pride, allow his life, approve his learning. Fuller.

2. To like; to be suited or pleased with. [Obs.] How allow you the model of these clothes Massinger.

3. To sanction; to invest; to intrust. [Obs.] Thou shalt be . . . allowed with absolute power. Shak.

4. To grant, give, admit, accord, afford, or yield; to let one have; as, to allow a servant his liberty; to allow a free passage; to allow one day for rest. He was allowed about three hundred pounds a year. Macaulay.

5. To own or acknowledge; to accept as true; to concede; to accede to an opinion; as, to allow a right; to allow a claim; to allow the truth of a proposition. I allow, with Mrs. Grundy and most moralists, that Miss Newcome's conduct . . . was highly reprehensible. Thackeray.

6. To grant (something) as a deduction or an addition; esp. to abate or deduct; as, to allow a sum for leakage.

7. To grant license to; to permit; to consent to; as, to allow a son to be absent.

Syn.

– To allot; assign; bestow; concede; admit; permit; suffer; tolerate. See Permit.

Al*low", v. i.

Definition: To admit; to concede; to make allowance or abatement. Allowing still for the different ways of making it. Addison. To allow of, to permit; to admit. Shak.

Source: Webster’s Unabridged Dictionary 1913 Edition

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