Facilitate

Part of speech: verb

Pronunciation: /fəˈsɪlɪteɪt/

Definitions

1. To make a process or action easier or less difficult by providing assistance or removing obstacles
2. To assist in making a task easier or more efficient by removing barriers or providing necessary support
3. To enable a process to occur smoothly by reducing difficulties or offering guidance and resources

Etymology: Latin "facilis" meant "easy to do," built from "facere," "to do" or "to make." That sense of doability runs through the family: "facile" came into English meaning effortless, sometimes with a sneer about glib ease, and "facility" once meant mere ease before it came to name a building or a skill. "Facilitate" was formed in English from the French "faciliter," itself drawn from the same Latin base, with the English suffix "-ate" added to turn the idea into a verb. The original sense was simply to make something easy, and the modern meaning of clearing obstacles so a task can proceed grew naturally out of that. Its near relative "difficult" shows the same Latin stem with the opposite prefix: "dis-" negates "facilis," so the two words are mirror images of one root. Few English pairs make the connection between ease and hardship so plainly visible.

Synonyms: ease, assist, help, enable, simplify

Antonyms: hinder, obstruct, complicate