facilitate
Americanverb (used with object)
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facilitates,
present (3rd person singular)
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facilitated,
past participle, past
-
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
-
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
-
have been facilitatingperfect progressive
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has been facilitatingperfect progressive
Past
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facilitatedsimple
-
had facilitatedperfect
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was facilitatingprogressive
-
were facilitatingprogressive
-
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:
The AI entertainment company said Monday that it had commenced voluntary bankruptcy proceedings in Delaware to facilitate a sale of most or all of its assets.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 13, 2026
"A specifically designed coating could, in the future, facilitate this transfer and the interaction between mitochondria and cells," emphasizes Dr. Tiranti.
From Science Daily ● Oct. 13, 2026
The letter, addressed to Northern Ireland Secretary Sir Chris Bryant, calls on him to work with the Irish government to appoint an "independent international mediator" to "facilitate a robust, durable solution".
From BBC ● Oct. 7, 2026
The company wrote that net proceeds will reduce the company’s debt and facilitate the repurchase of company shares.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 5, 2026
There was even a train system to facilitate transporting the miners from the Nut to the very center of the main town in District 2.
From "Mockingjay" by Suzanne Collins
Aviation and the tourism it facilitates generated economic activity equivalent to 27% of the emirate’s gross domestic product in 2023, according to a study by Oxford Economics.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 4, 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
IonQ’s acquisition of SkyWater Technology prompts a raise to its guidance and facilitates the production of new quantum chips.
From Barron's ● Sep. 8, 2026
"However, our data show that water mainly facilitates mantle melting. The key factor for high gold concentrations is the high - and in part repeated - degree of melting."
From Science Daily ● Jul. 29, 2026
Usually, linguistic change is a crucial marker of a modification in the way in which people think—it both facilitates that change and makes it easier for us to recognize it.
From "The Invention of Science" by David Wootton
Somewhere, a piece of restaurant software had facilitated communication between two people who could reasonably have passed each other a saltshaker.
From Salon ● Oct. 17, 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
For example, perhaps increased closeness to parents facilitated by smartphones or gentler parenting styles leads young adults in their 20s and early 30s to be more comfortable living with their folks.
From MarketWatch ● Sep. 22, 2026
The exhibition was facilitated by the Watford Labour MP Matt Turmaine after he saw Fawley's work at the care home.
From BBC ● Sep. 20, 2026
Having sympathetic warders facilitated one of our most vital tasks on Robben Island: communication.
From "Long Walk to Freedom" by Nelson Mandela
Markets are volatile, which is good for banks’ businesses facilitating trades on behalf of clients, and the AI boom demands seemingly endless new financing.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 7, 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
Writing empowered European societies by facilitating political administration and economic exchanges, motivating and guiding exploration and conquest, and making available a range of information and human experience extending into remote places and times.
From "Guns, Germs, and Steel: The Fates of Human Societies" by Jared M. Diamond
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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.
