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
Derived Forms
Conjugated Forms
Present
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have facilitatedperfect
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has facilitatedperfect 3rd person singular
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am facilitatingprogressive 1st person singular
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has been facilitatingperfect progressive 3rd person singular
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is facilitatingprogressive 3rd person singular
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facilitatessingular 3rd person
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are facilitatingprogressive
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facilitatingparticiple
-
have been facilitatingperfect progressive
Past
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had facilitatedperfect
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had been facilitatingperfect progressive
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were facilitatingprogressive plural
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was facilitatingprogressive singular
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facilitatedsimple
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facilitatedparticiple
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.
Police have closed a number of roads to facilitate the crowd.
From BBC • Jun. 13, 2026
Smucker appointed two new board members and signed an information-sharing agreement to facilitate collaboration with the firm.
From Barron's • Jun. 9, 2026
The platform’s initial $35 billion tranche will facilitate Anthropic’s previously announced capacity expansion of over 1 gigawatt.
From The Wall Street Journal • Jun. 9, 2026
“Election officials take connection to their community seriously. We recognize that our job is to facilitate their voting experience, and that voter participation is key to election security,” Logan said.
From Los Angeles Times • Jun. 2, 2026
Rather, he would quietly appoint a committee to deliberate for eternity over exactly which door, and of what dimensions, would best facilitate the ingress and egress of all students.
From "The Best of Enemies" by Osha Gray Davidson
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.
