facilitate
Americanverb (used with object)
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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
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.
Lauren Bis, acting assistant public affairs secretary at Homeland Security, wrote in an email that members of Congress can still request to speak with detainees and that ICE will facilitate their meetings.
From Los Angeles Times • May 12, 2026
But what if that mutual desire and respect — and the infrastructure to facilitate it — do not exist?
From Salon • May 12, 2026
Mani's brother, Greg Mounfield, helped facilitate the mural and said it was chosen at a place where they had enjoyed many eventful nights out.
From BBC • May 11, 2026
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention were expected to meet them in the Canaries to facilitate their transfer to special quarantine facilities in Omaha, Neb.
From The Wall Street Journal • May 10, 2026
I would be happy to do anything possible to facilitate such a path.
From "Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close" by Jonathan Safran Foer
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.
