The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48:

Allow \Al*low"\, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Allowed; p. pr. & vb. n.
   Allowing.] [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]
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            Ye allow the deeds of your fathers.   --Luke xi. 48.
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            We commend his pains, condemn his pride, allow his
            life, approve his learning.           --Fuller.
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   2. To like; to be suited or pleased with. [Obs.]
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            How allow you the model of these clothes?
                                                  --Massinger.
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   3. To sanction; to invest; to intrust. [Obs.]
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            Thou shalt be . . . allowed with absolute power.
                                                  --Shak.
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   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.
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            He was allowed about three hundred pounds a year.
                                                  --Macaulay.
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   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.
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            I allow, with Mrs. Grundy and most moralists, that
            Miss Newcome's conduct . . . was highly
            reprehensible.                        --Thackeray.
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   6. To grant (something) as a deduction or an addition; esp.
      to abate or deduct; as, to allow a sum for leakage.
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   7. To grant license to; to permit; to consent to; as, to
      allow a son to be absent.
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   Syn: To allot; assign; bestow; concede; admit; permit;
        suffer; tolerate. See Permit.
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The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48:

Allow \Al*low"\, v. i.
   To admit; to concede; to make allowance or abatement.
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         Allowing still for the different ways of making it.
                                                  --Addison.
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   To allow of, to permit; to admit. --Shak.
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WordNet (r) 3.0 (2006):

allow
    v 1: 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" [syn:
         let, allow, permit] [ant: keep, prevent]
    2: 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" [syn:
       permit, allow, let, countenance] [ant: disallow,
       forbid, interdict, nix, prohibit, proscribe,
       veto]
    3: let have; "grant permission"; "Mandela was allowed few
       visitors in prison" [syn: allow, grant] [ant: deny,
       refuse]
    4: 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" [syn: allow, appropriate,
       earmark, set aside, reserve]
    5: 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" [syn: leave,
       allow for, allow, provide]
    6: 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"
       [syn: allow, take into account]
    7: afford possibility; "This problem admits of no solution";
       "This short story allows of several different
       interpretations" [syn: admit, allow]
    8: allow the other (baseball) team to score; "give up a run"
       [syn: give up, allow]
    9: grant as a discount or in exchange; "The camera store owner
       allowed me $50 on my old camera"
    10: 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" [syn: allow, permit,
        tolerate]

Moby Thesaurus II by Grady Ward, 1.0:

165 Moby Thesaurus words for "allow":
   OK, abate, accede, accept, accord, account, acknowledge, acquiesce,
   add, adjudge, adjudicate, administer, admit, admit everything,
   admit exceptions, afford, agree provisionally, agree to, allocate,
   allot, allow for, apportion, appropriate, approve, assent,
   assent grudgingly, assign, authorize, avow, award, bate,
   be judicious, bestow, bestow on, brook, budget, charge off,
   come clean, communicate, concede, confer, confess, consent,
   consent to, consider, consider the circumstances,
   consider the source, cop a plea, count, countenance, cut, deal,
   deal out, deduct, deem, defer, depreciate, discount, dish out,
   dispense, disregard, dole, dole out, donate, earmark, endure,
   entertain, esteem, exercise judgment, express an opinion,
   express general agreement, extend, fork out, form an opinion, gift,
   gift with, give, give freely, give leave, give out,
   give permission, give the go-ahead, give the word, go along with,
   grant, hand out, have, heap, help to, hold, impart, issue, judge,
   kick back, lavish, leave, let, let have, let on, lift temporarily,
   lot, make allowance, make allowance for, make possible, mete,
   mete out, not oppose, offer, okay, open up, out with it, own,
   own up, permit, pine, plead guilty, pour, present, presume,
   proffer, provide for, put aside, put up with, rain, rebate,
   recognize, reduce, refund, regard, relax, relax the condition,
   release, render, sanction, say the word, serve, set apart,
   set aside, shell out, shower, slip, snow, spill, spill it,
   spit it out, stand, stand for, submit, suffer, suppose,
   take a premium, take account of, take into account,
   take into consideration, take off, tell all, tell the truth,
   tender, think of, tolerate, vouchsafe, waive, warrant, write off,
   yield