Provide 'for'

[Andrew3003]

Can 'provide for' ever be used to mean something like 'allow for'. Does it even exist with 'for'?

eg. This policy provides for integration of systems etc?

Thanks for your help
Andrew

 

[exgerman]

Can 'provide for' ever be used to mean something like 'allow for'. Does it even exist with 'for'?

eg. This policy provides for integration of systems etc?

Andrew

That's what it means to me---this policy makes provision for integration..., i.e. the policy is designed in such a way that the goal of integration is not hindered, maybe even fostered. But that is not the primary goal of the policy.

It doesn't make the stronger statement that the policy accomplishes that goal, just that it doesn't make it harder to achieve.

 

[Andrew3003]

It's a hypothetical statement; I'm not sure if it exists in this form.

I am aware of makes provision for, but what about 'provides for'.

Thanks
A

 

[dreamlike]

It always meant to me "supply the needs of, maintain" as in Tom provides for his family, he's the only breadwinner. Having looked it up, it also means "allow"

2. to allow something The permit will provide for a 30-day hunt beginning in late November.

 

[Lyndon]

"Provide for" obviously has a range of meanings.

Exgerman has suggested one extreme, but we see the opposite extreme in "His Will provides for a million-dollar bequest to the Smithsonian". The money will definitely have to be paid. The sense of simply 'not hindering' is totally absent.

When we say that President Obama's Affordable Care Act 'provides for' universal health care, we mean that the goal is mandated, not just that it is not hindered.