abet
Help wrongdoing along
To abet is to encourage or assist someone in wrongdoing, typically a crime: aiding and abetting a fugitive.
The word almost always appears in negative contexts—you abet fraud, not charity.
Legal usage pairs it with aid: charged with aiding and abetting the robbery.
Outside legal contexts, abet suggests active support for something questionable: Her silence abetted his deception.
Support given freely
- helpAssistance given
- supportTo uphold or sustain
- facilitateMake something easier
- backReverse side; support
enable · further · advance · promote · sanction · countenance · condone · encourage
Crime's willing helper
- accessorySupplementary addition
- collusionFraudulent secret cooperation
- conspiracyClandestine coordinated scheming
- connivanceWillful blindness to wrongdoing
complicit · cover-up · smuggling · trafficking · laundering · racketeering · embezzlement · bribery
One who facilitates harmful behavior
- collaboratorOne who works jointly
- participationAct of taking part
- involvementState of being engaged
- facilitationMaking tasks easier
cooperation · scheming · plotting · concealment · silence · tacit · partnership · harboring
aid
Support given freely
- helpAssistance given
- supportTo uphold or sustain
- facilitateMake something easier
back · enable · further · advance · promote · sanction · countenance · condone · encourage · sustain
instigate
Cause to begin
stir · inflame · ignite · spark · goad · spur · rouse · kindle · trigger · urge
accomplice
Crime's willing helper
- accessorySupplementary addition
- collusionFraudulent secret cooperation
- conspiracyClandestine coordinated scheming
connivance · complicit · cover-up · smuggling · trafficking · laundering · racketeering · embezzlement · bribery · corruption
enabler
One who facilitates harmful behavior
- collaboratorOne who works jointly
- participationAct of taking part
- involvementState of being engaged
facilitation · cooperation · scheming · plotting · concealment · silence · tacit · partnership · harboring · sheltering