facilitate
Americanverb (used with object)
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facilitates,
present (3rd person singular)
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facilitated,
past participle, past
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facilitating
present participle
-
to make easier or less difficult; help forward (an action, a process, etc.).
Careful planning facilitates any kind of work.
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to lead or moderate (a discussion, workshop, etc.), especially as a person trained to do so.
An instructor will facilitate the online discussions, providing students with the questions beforehand.
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to assist the progress of (a person).
verb
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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facilitatesimple
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facilitatessimple
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have facilitatedperfect
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has facilitatedperfect
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am facilitatingprogressive
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are facilitatingprogressive
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is facilitatingprogressive
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have been facilitatingperfect progressive
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has been facilitatingperfect progressive
Past
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facilitatedsimple
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had facilitatedperfect
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was facilitatingprogressive
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were facilitatingprogressive
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had been facilitatingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of facilitate
First recorded in 1605–15; facilit(y) + -ate 1
Explanation
To facilitate means to make something easier. If your best friend is very shy, you could facilitate her efforts to meet new people. Facilitate comes from the Latin facilis, for "easy." It means to make something easier or more likely to happen. You facilitate growth or a process, as opposed to, say, dinner. Often in business meetings someone will be assigned to facilitate a discussion so people don't just sit in awkward silence. Synonyms are ease, simplify, expedite, and assist.
Vocabulary lists containing facilitate
Essential Academic Vocabulary for High School Students, List 3
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Make Do: Fac
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
It will also facilitate Bulgaria's international financial transfers, he added.
From Barron's ● Oct. 30, 2026
Unlike stock exchanges, which facilitate trading but don’t actually hold securities on behalf of investors, many crypto exchanges store cryptocurrencies for their customers.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 29, 2026
Actually identifying the vast majority of doctors who facilitate abortions would be challenging, to say the least.
From Slate ● Oct. 27, 2026
The judge said Marimi's allegations "at best suggest that US government officials exerted pressure on Libyan officials to facilitate a rendition, not that US government officials directed or controlled the challenged conduct."
From BBC ● Oct. 22, 2026
Behind the classic building facades of brick and stone was some of the most intricate technology known to man, all developed to help facilitate the continuation of the Glitch Initiative.
From "Glitch" by Laura Martin
"Our findings suggest that conjoint exercise facilitates, in a small but significant way, the ability to resolve conflict peacefully," Yorgason said.
From Science Daily ● Oct. 6, 2026
In statements, Denver and Boston public school districts said they are committed to helping students and teachers navigate AI in a way that facilitates learning.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 1, 2026
The UK's Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency says it facilitates clinical research, but it is still too early to know whether psychedelic treatments might one day become routinely available.
From BBC ● Sep. 29, 2026
People do this because rolling funds into a plan often facilitates another maneuver and the funds are often still accessible.
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 29, 2026
For the plant the change is highly disadvantageous, but it facilitates harvest by humans—the grain waits on the stem to be collected.
From "1491" by Charles C. Mann
A further £3bn will be made available to Ukraine through loans facilitated by UK Export Finance, a government export credit agency.
From BBC ● Oct. 28, 2026
Agents wanted Kao to help them find more records that would back up his account and asked him to point them toward lobbyists in D.C. who he said facilitated the pay-for-play scheme.
From Salon ● Oct. 20, 2026
Kreiz was previously chairman and chief executive of Mattel, where he facilitated the toy company’s big Hollywood push with “Barbie,” “Masters of the Universe” and the upcoming Hot Wheels movie.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 2, 2026
The Journal published an investigation last year reporting that the two men were officers of Epstein entities that obscured transactions, arranged cash for Epstein, made payments to women and facilitated Epstein’s immigration schemes.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 23, 2026
Matters are also facilitated when the prince, having no other dominions to govern, is constrained to come to live there in person.
From "The Prince" by Niccolò Machiavelli
It is performing two tasks superbly and simultaneously: the implementing of a naval blockade of Iran and facilitating the export of non-Iran oil through the Strait of Hormuz.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 27, 2026
"Are they happening together or not? At which molecular site? And how is the water network facilitating the proton hop?"
From Science Daily ● Oct. 6, 2026
It does still bar them from knowingly or recklessly facilitating such sales, and it requires them to take “reasonable measures” to prevent them.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 28, 2026
By facilitating an open conversation that nails down the details of your offer, you can provide for your great-nephew and avoid friction with your wife.
From MarketWatch ● Sep. 23, 2026
Hubler could make hundreds of millions facilitating the idiocy of Morgan Stanley’s customers.
From "The Big Short" by Michael Lewis
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Get a wordDefinitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
