Definition of FACILITATE (original) (raw)
: to make (something) easier
programs that facilitate access to health care
: such as
a
: to help bring (something) about
His campaign emphasized a variety of ways the federal government could help facilitate economic growth …—
Mead Gruver
Over the past two decades, the city has explored and made attempts to facilitate development of affordable housing on city-owned lots downtown.—Ryan Stanton
b
: to help (something, such as a discussion) run more smoothly and effectively
The meeting included the full accountability team formed by the university, and the university facilitated the meeting, … sharing progress on initiatives underway …—Kayla Lasure
Did you know?
English isn’t always easy, but the origin of facilitate is nothing but: the word 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"). English isn’t the only Latin-influenced language that has facilis to thank for "easy" words: the word for "easy" is fácil in both Spanish and Portuguese, and facile in both Italian and French. The way that facilitating something makes it "easy" (or "easier," as it were) can be likened to paving a road to make traveling to one’s destination smoother. Similarly, when we say, for example, that applying a healthy layer of mulch around the base of a newly planted tree facilitates robust growth, we mean that it (figuratively) paves the way for, or brings about, the sapling’s success.
Synonyms
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—or 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.
Recent Examples on the Web Furthermore, LLMs excel in facilitating multilingual support by translating queries and responses in real time, enabling organizations to effectively cater to a diverse, global customer base. —Esha Manideep Dinne, Forbes, 20 Sep. 2024 Winfrey then facilitated questions from the audience and those tuning in virtually touching on a range of subjects from immigration to cost of living and laid out her plans to address each. —Clara Hendrickson, Detroit Free Press, 20 Sep. 2024 As the largest European airline in the Oneworld alliance, British Airways facilitates travel via Miami from its partners, American Airlines and Alaska Airlines. —Stella Shon, Travel + Leisure, 19 Sep. 2024 The notion of facilitating Sinwar’s exile has been discussed at various points in the negotiations as part of the later stages of an eventual ceasefire agreement, although there is no indication that Sinwar would agree to such terms. —Mick Krever, CNN, 19 Sep. 2024 See all Example Sentences for facilitate 
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'facilitate.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Word History
Etymology
probably from Middle French faciliter "to make easy" (borrowed from Italian facilitare, verbal derivative of facilità facility) + -ate entry 4
First Known Use
1599, in the meaning defined above
Time Traveler
The first known use of facilitate was in 1599
Dictionary Entries Near facilitate
Cite this Entry
“Facilitate.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/facilitate. Accessed 1 Oct. 2024.
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Last Updated: 24 Sep 2024 - Updated example sentences
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