1 facilitate | Definition of facilitate

facilitate

verb
fa路​cil路​i路​tate | \ f蓹-藞si-l蓹-藢t膩t How to pronounce facilitate (audio) \
facilitated; facilitating

Definition of facilitate

transitive verb

: to make easier : help bring about facilitate growth

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Other Words from facilitate

facilitative \ f蓹-​藞si-​l蓹-​藢t膩-​tiv How to pronounce facilitative (audio) \ adjective

Synonyms & Antonyms for facilitate

Synonyms

ease, grease, loosen (up), smooth, unclog

Antonyms

complicate

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Did You Know?

As with so many English words, it's easy to find a Latin origin for facilitate. It traces back to the Latin adjective facilis, meaning "easy." Other descendants of facilis in English include facile ("easy to do"), facility ("the quality of being easily performed"), faculty ("ability"), and difficult (from dis- plus facilis, which equals "not easy"). Facilis in turn comes from facere, a Latin verb meaning "to make or do." Facere has played a role in the development of dozens of English words, ranging from affect to surfeit.

Examples of facilitate in a Sentence

The strength of the inner identities that black women forged and nurtured during slavery facilitated the transition to freedom. — Darlene Clark Hine, Lure and Loathing, 1993 What physical events might have facilitated the evolution of macroscopic animals? — Andrew H. Knoll, Scientific American, October 1991 Nothing so facilitates writing as actually having something to say, yet the conditions under which, and the tools with which, writing is done can contribute to facility鈥攐r to difficulty. — Joseph Epstein, The Middle of My Tether, 1983 Cutting taxes may facilitate economic recovery. Her rise to power was facilitated by her influential friends. The moderator's role is to facilitate the discussion by asking appropriate questions.
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Recent Examples on the Web

While moving to facilitate research, the Trump administration on Thursday issued a warning against young people and pregnant women using marijuana. San Diego Union-Tribune, "Column: California Cannabis market gets boost from DOJ, Weedmaps," 30 Aug. 2019 The not-for-profit organisation plans to use funds worth $3.5 million from Walmart Foundation to develop and train up to 20 farmer producer organisations to facilitate market linkages. Sangeeta Tanwar, Quartz India, "The world鈥檚 largest retailer is reaching out to India鈥檚 small farmers with new technology," 27 Aug. 2019 To facilitate the initiative, the public defender and county attorney鈥檚 offices will team up with Project Remand, a non-profit organization that helps Ramsey County reduce its jail population by offering alternatives to traditional detention. Sarah Horner, Twin Cities, "New Ramsey County program would give more offenders a second chance," 19 Aug. 2019 They were named after the thin paper they were typed on (carta velina is Italian for tissue paper), which was used to facilitate the ease of making many carbon copies as fast as possible. Annalisa Merelli, Quartz, "Fake news has been enabling fascism for a whole century," 15 Aug. 2019 Probably the main thing used to facilitate a rape is alcohol. Maggie O'neill, Health.com, "The Symptoms of Alcohol Poisoning You Need to Know," 9 Aug. 2019 The state parks department facilitates applications to the National Register of Historic Places. oregonlive.com, "Eastmoreland nomination to National Register of Historic Places denied a third time," 22 July 2019 In addition, prosecutors said Janke and Khosroshahin designated four students as recruits to the team to facilitate their entrance to USC, even though the students did not play competitive soccer. Mark Morales And Jason Hanna, CNN, "Feds investigating ex-USC athletic director's possible ties to college admissions scam mastermind, source says," 6 June 2019 To make matters worse, Maurice Papon, the Paris police chief at the time, had also been responsible for facilitating the deportations of about 1,600 Bordeaux Jews to their deaths during World War II. James Mcauley, The New York Review of Books, "The Rap Sheet of the French Police," 18 Apr. 2019

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'facilitate.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

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First Known Use of facilitate

1599, in the meaning defined above

History and Etymology for facilitate

probably from Middle French faciliter "to make easy" (borrowed from Italian facilitare, verbal derivative of facilit脿 facility) + -ate entry 4

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More Definitions for facilitate

facilitate

verb

English Language Learners Definition of facilitate

formal
: to make (something) easier : to help cause (something)
: to help (something) run more smoothly and effectively

facilitate

verb
fa路​cil路​i路​tate | \ f蓹-藞si-l蓹-藢t膩t How to pronounce facilitate (audio) \
facilitated; facilitating

Kids Definition of facilitate

: to make easier

facilitate

transitive verb
fa路​cil路​i路​tate | \ f蓹-藞sil-蓹-藢t膩t How to pronounce facilitate (audio) \
facilitated; facilitating

Medical Definition of facilitate

: to increase the likelihood, strength, or effectiveness of (as behavior or a response) reflexes can be facilitated or inhibited also : to lower the threshold for transmission of (an impulse)

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facilitate

transitive verb
fa路​cil路​i路​tate | \ f蓹-藞si-l蓹-藢t膩t How to pronounce facilitate (audio)