facilitate
verb
Mead GruverRyan StantonKayla 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.
Examples of facilitate in a Sentence
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.
Martin Shenkman, Forbes.com, 7 July 2025
This was no low-level mule who ferried drugs on his person, but a state attorney general who had facilitated cartel smuggling for years.
—Los Angeles Times, 7 July 2025
Florida has stepped up to facilitate interior enforcement in ways that no other state has, but others may soon follow suit.
—Anna Giaritelli, The Washington Examiner, 6 July 2025
One main controversy surrounding the organization is its use of private security personnel, as well as private logistics companies to facilitate aid entering Gaza and its distribution.
—Callum Sutherland, Time, 4 July 2025
See All Example Sentences for facilitate
Cite this Entry
“Facilitate.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/facilitate. Accessed 19 Jul. 2025.
Copy CitationKids Definition
facilitate
verb
Medical Definition
facilitate
transitive verb
Legal Definition
facilitate
transitive verb
Share