facilitation

noun

fa·​cil·​i·​ta·​tion fə-ˌsi-lə-ˈtā-shən How to pronounce facilitation (audio)
1
: the act of facilitating : the state of being facilitated
2
a
: the lowering of the threshold for reflex conduction along a particular neural pathway especially from repeated use of that pathway
b
: the increasing of the ease or intensity of a response by repeated stimulation

Example Sentences

Recent Examples on the Web The teenage girl faces the same possible charges as the boys, but may face an additional charge of facilitation, according to police spokesperson Kristine Sleighter. Amaris Encinas, The Arizona Republic, 13 Aug. 2021 For example, loan facilitation can be combined with credit guarantees to help reduce risks for banks. Xie Yu, WSJ, 23 Mar. 2021 No social facilitation was observed as none of the intact sheep ate any of the food, although the anosmic animals actively ate it throughout the test. Seriously Science, Discover Magazine, 23 June 2014 Similarly, the rapidity of the Banu Hilal transfer from Arabia to North Africa had to do with the facilitation on the part of the Fatimids of Egypt. Razib Khan, Discover Magazine, 7 July 2011 The city-state will top up national productivity fund by S$4 billion, develop labor-market intermediaries who can go through industry training and employment facilitation, and extend the Senior Employment Credit and the Part-time Re-employment Grant. Abhishek Vishnoi, Bloomberg.com, 14 Feb. 2023 The teenage girl may face an additional felony charge of facilitation, according to Show Low police. Monica D. Spencer, The Arizona Republic, 18 Aug. 2021 If facilitation had been occurring in Wolf Point Creek, there would have been more extinctions—species disappearing. Lesley Evans Ogden, Smithsonian Magazine, 4 Apr. 2023 In 2020, the U.N. issued ten warnings everyone should know about industrial agriculture, including: The facilitation of diseases from animals to humans, links to epidemics of obesity and chronic illness, entrenches inequality, and its fundamentally at odds with environmental health, to name a few. Michelle Williams, Forbes, 20 May 2022 See More

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'facilitation.' 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

facilit(ate) + -ation; in sense 2 probably as translation of German Bahnung

First Known Use

1620, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Time Traveler
The first known use of facilitation was in 1620

Dictionary Entries Near facilitation

Cite this Entry

“Facilitation.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/facilitation. Accessed 3 Jun. 2023.

Medical Definition

facilitation

noun
fa·​cil·​i·​ta·​tion fə-ˌsil-ə-ˈtā-shən How to pronounce facilitation (audio)
1
: the lowering of the threshold for reflex conduction along a particular neural pathway especially from repeated use of that pathway
2
: the increasing of the ease or intensity of a response by repeated stimulation

More from Merriam-Webster on facilitation

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