facilitate

[fuh-sil-i-teyt]

verb (used with object), fa·cil·i·tat·ed, fa·cil·i·tat·ing.

to make easier or less difficult; help forward (an action, a process, etc.): Careful planning facilitates any kind of work.
to assist the progress of (a person).

Origin of facilitate

First recorded in 1605–15; facilit(y) + -ate¹

Related formsfa·cil·i·ta·tive, adjectiveun·fa·cil·i·tat·ed, adjective

Can be confusedfacile facilitate facility felicitate

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

British Dictionary definitions for facilitative

facilitate

verb

(tr) to make easier; assist the progress of

Derived Formsfacilitative, adjectivefacilitator, noun

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for facilitative

adj.

1864, from facilitate + -ive.

facilitate

1610s, from French faciliter "to render easy," from Latin facilis "easy" (see facile). Related: Facilitated; facilitates; facilitating.