facilitate
Americanverb (used with object)
-
facilitates,
present (3rd person singular)
-
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.
-
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
-
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
-
has been facilitatingperfect progressive
Past
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facilitatedsimple
-
had facilitatedperfect
-
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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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.
See Examples For:
Accompanied by DUP MP Carla Lockhart, Power asked the police if they could facilitate their parade.
From BBC ● Sep. 30, 2026
The investigation by Forbidden Stories found the administration has earmarked $410 million to be paid directly to the receiving countries, or to United Nations agencies to facilitate the returns.
From Barron's ● Sep. 30, 2026
His generosity is so well known, in fact, that an industry of lobbyists, lawyers and other insiders has reportedly sprung up to facilitate clemency for wealthy criminals.
From Salon ● Sep. 27, 2026
Ahead of the results, RBC analysts also had their eyes on the tariff refunds, which were seen as a way to boost profitability to facilitate reinvestments in the consumer experience.
From MarketWatch ● Sep. 24, 2026
In response to my grandfather’s question, Zizmo only opens his door: to facilitate escape.
From "Middlesex: A Novel" by Jeffrey Eugenides
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
“There is a deep connection with the cosmos in Mexico. I’ve seen it in anthropology books; this vision of art as a healing agent that facilitates spiritual growth.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 25, 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
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 investigation found Leonard received $66 million in cash and equity from four companies facilitated by Ballmer and Clippers executives at the behest of Dennis Robertson, Leonard’s uncle and then-agent.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 14, 2026
A Spanish police report leaked last week flagged "total permissiveness" by Moroccan security forces during the rush, saying their numbers at the Ceuta border were lower than usual and that some actively facilitated the crossings.
From Barron's ● Sep. 8, 2026
This facilitated approval of the sale of the servers, though the Taiwan facility lacked the required rack space, power and bandwidth, the prosecutors said.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 24, 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
The two men have previously said they didn’t know Epstein was engaged in sex trafficking and denied being complicit in or knowingly facilitating any crimes.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 23, 2026
The 14 defendants – mainly Afghan nationals – are accused of manslaughter and facilitating illegal immigration as part of an organised criminal group.
From BBC ● Sep. 8, 2026
Indiana acknowledged that Planned Parenthood was facilitating legal abortions.
From Slate ● Aug. 28, 2026
Trying facilitating a frank conversation about what needs to be in order.
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 28, 2026
It is at this point—and at only this point—that we can say that the work of Galileo and his pupils on water flow had finally paid off by facilitating a markedly improved practical technology.
From "The Invention of Science" by David Wootton
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.
