FACILITATE

Pronunciation (US):

(GB):

IPA (US):

 Dictionary entry overview: What does facilitate mean? 

• FACILITATE (verb)
  The verb FACILITATE has 3 senses:

1. make easier

2. be of use

3. increase the likelihood of (a response)

  Familiarity information: FACILITATE used as a verb is uncommon.

 Dictionary entry details 

• FACILITATE (verb)

Present simple: I / you / we / they facilitate    ... he / she / it facilitates   
Past simple: facilitated   
Past participle: facilitated   
-ing form: facilitating   

Sense 1

Meaning:

Make easier

Classified under:

Verbs of size, temperature change, intensifying, etc.

Synonyms:

alleviate; ease; facilitate

Context example:

you could facilitate the process by sharing your knowledge

Hypernyms (to "facilitate" is one way to...):

aid; assist; help (give help or assistance; be of service)

Sentence frames:

Somebody ----s something
Something ----s something

Derivation:

facilitation (act of assisting or making easier the progress or improvement of something)

facilitation (the condition of being made easy (or easier))

facilitative (freeing from difficulty or impediment)

facilitator (someone who makes progress easier)

Sense 2

Meaning:

Be of use

Classified under:

Verbs of being, having, spatial relations

Synonyms:

facilitate; help

Context example:

This will help to prevent accidents

Hypernyms (to "facilitate" is one way to...):

serve (contribute or conduce to)

Sentence frames:

Somebody ----s
Somebody ----s to INFINITIVE
It ----s that CLAUSE
Something ----s INFINITIVE

Derivation:

facilitation (act of assisting or making easier the progress or improvement of something)

Sense 3

Meaning:

Increase the likelihood of (a response)

Classified under:

Verbs of sewing, baking, painting, performing

Context example:

The stimulus facilitates a delayed impulse

Hypernyms (to "facilitate" is one way to...):

cause; do; make (give rise to; cause to happen or occur, not always intentionally)

Domain category:

physiology (processes and functions of an organism)

Sentence frame:

Something ----s something

Derivation:

facilitation ((neurophysiology) phenomenon that occurs when two or more neural impulses that alone are not enough to trigger a response in a neuron combine to trigger an action potential)

facilitatory (inducing or aiding in facilitating neural activity)

 Context examples 

This lagomorph has non-pigmented skin and long slender ears which allows for ease of visualization of peripheral vasculature, thus facilitating phlebotomical procedures.

(New Zealand White Rabbit, NCI Thesaurus)

A non-profit organization based in Minneapolis, MN, that facilitates hematopoietic cell transplants for patients by connecting patients, doctors, donors and researchers to the resources they need.

(National Marrow Donor Program, NCI Thesaurus)

Increased cellular Ca2+ facilitates binding of fibrinogen.

(Acute Myocardial Infarction Pathway, NCI Thesaurus/BIOCARTA)

They are small enough to be introduced into the body and have uniform pores that facilitate the controlled release of drugs.

(Nanosphere, NCI Thesaurus)

Technologies that facilitate the rapid determination of the DNA sequence of large numbers of strands or segments of DNA.

(Next Generation Sequencing, NCI Thesaurus)

By developing simple, rapid and accurate sensing platforms, the researchers aim to facilitate treatment of neurological disorders through stem cell therapy.

(Better biosensor technology created for stem cells, National Science Foundation)

This "bench-to-bedside" approach facilitates interaction and collaboration among clinicians and researchers.

(NIH Clinical Center, NCI Thesaurus)

Microlensing is a technique that facilitates the discovery of distant objects by using background stars as flashlights.

('Iceball' Planet Discovered Through Microlensing, NASA)

Other hypotheses include the idea that stripes may confuse predators, facilitate social interactions within the herd, and regulate body temperature.

(Zebra stripes may 'dazzle' pathogen-packing horse flies, Wikinews)

The overarching aim of this research is to position the EdisfO as a widely-used tool that facilitates the diagnosis of possible dysphagia—a quick, safe, and effective test to screen for this disorder.

(Scientists designed the first test to detect dysphagia, University of Granada)