facilitate
Americanverb (used with object)
-
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
- facilitative adjective
- facilitator noun
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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ACT Vocabulary List
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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.
Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood has promised that "sham lawyers" who facilitate abuse of the asylum system "will face the full force of the law".
From BBC • Apr. 15, 2026
These conditions can facilitate the spread of viruses, bacteria and parasites.
From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 13, 2026
Pakistan, which has deep cultural and religious ties with neighbouring Iran and whose leaders share close personal rapport with Trump, will facilitate both sides.
From Barron's • Apr. 10, 2026
Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier launched an investigation into OpenAI and its ChatGPT models, citing national security risks and the possibility that ChatGPT helped facilitate a shooting at Florida State University.
From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 9, 2026
If in order to facilitate our defense we wish to remember this first point, we shall in our first background form an image of the whole matter.
From "Words Like Loaded Pistols" by Sam Leith
Definitions 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.
