facilitate

verb

fa·​cil·​i·​tate fə-ˈsi-lə-ˌtāt How to pronounce facilitate (audio)
facilitated; facilitating; facilitates

transitive verb

: 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
facilitative adjective

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

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
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
The company launched home equity lines of credit (HELOCs) as its first product and so far has originated more than $16 billion in loans and facilitated over $50 billion transactions on its blockchain, according to its S-1 filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission earlier this month. Julie Goldenberg, Forbes.com, 11 Sep. 2025 For Klarna, which turns 20 this year, the offering is a milestone and the next step in the payment revolution that so far has helped the company ramp up to 111 million active customers shopping 790,000 merchants and facilitating $112 billion in retail sales annually. Evan Clark, Footwear News, 10 Sep. 2025 All of this is controlled by a NVIDIA Jetson single-board computer, which hosts a message queuing telemetry transport (MQTT) broker to facilitate communication between the hardware and the software that emulates a real reactor. David Szondy september 10, New Atlas, 10 Sep. 2025 Oman has facilitated talks between Iran and the US and more successfully between the US and the Houthis. Paula Hancocks, CNN Money, 10 Sep. 2025 See All Example Sentences for facilitate

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

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Cite this Entry

“Facilitate.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/facilitate. Accessed 12 Sep. 2025.

Kids Definition

facilitate

verb
fa·​cil·​i·​tate fə-ˈsil-ə-ˌtāt How to pronounce facilitate (audio)
facilitated; facilitating
: to make easier
facilitation
-ˌsil-ə-ˈtā-shən
noun

Medical Definition

facilitate

transitive verb
fa·​cil·​i·​tate fə-ˈsil-ə-ˌtāt How to pronounce facilitate (audio)
facilitated; facilitating
: 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)

Legal Definition

facilitate

transitive verb
fa·​cil·​i·​tate fə-ˈsi-lə-ˌtāt How to pronounce facilitate (audio)
facilitated; facilitating
: to make easier : help bring about
a vehicle used to facilitate commission of the offense
facilitation noun

More from Merriam-Webster on facilitate

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