Library / English Dictionary

FACILITATE

Pronunciation (US):

(GB):

 I. (verb) 

Sense 1

Meaning:

Make easier

Example:

you could facilitate the process by sharing your knowledge

Synonyms:

alleviate; ease; facilitate

Classified under:

Verbs of size, temperature change, intensifying, etc.

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:

Increase the likelihood of (a response)

Example:

The stimulus facilitates a delayed impulse

Classified under:

Verbs of sewing, baking, painting, performing

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)

Sense 3

Meaning:

Be of use

Example:

This will help to prevent accidents

Synonyms:

facilitate; help

Classified under:

Verbs of being, having, spatial relations

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)

Credits

 Context examples: 

Altogether, AAT may attenuate acute graft-versus-host disease (GvHD) and may facilitate graft acceptance and survival.

(Alpha-1-Proteinase Inhibitor Human, NCI Thesaurus)

The role of the nanoparticle is to facilitate delivery of the drug to a cellular target that it would not reach in its free form.

(Nanoparticle-Mediated Drug Delivery, NCI Thesaurus)

Methamphetamine acts by both facilitating the release of catecholamines, particularly noradrenaline, dopamine and serotonin, from nerve terminals in the brain and by inhibiting their uptake.

(Methamphetamine, NCI Thesaurus)

BMS-641988 binds to the androgen receptor in target tissues, thereby preventing androgen-induced receptor activation, and facilitates the formation of inactive complexes that cannot be translocated to the nucleus.

(AR Antagonist BMS-641988, NCI Thesaurus)

When expressed by dendritic cells, tumor antigens and the co-stimulatory molecule CD40L, which binds to CD40 receptors on antigen presenting cells (APC), facilitate both humoral and cellular immune responses against tumor cells.

(Autologous Dendritic Cell-Autologous Tumor mRNA-Human CD40L Vaccine, NCI Thesaurus)

This protein is involved in mediating microtubular structure and facilitating chromosome segregation during mitosis and meiosis.

(Aurora Kinase A, NCI Thesaurus)

This prevents the formation of amyloid deposits in certain organs and facilitates their clearance.

(Anti-amyloid Monoclonal Antibody NEOD001, NCI Thesaurus)

Methamphetamine hydrochloride acts by facilitating the release of catecholamines, particularly noradrenaline and dopamine, from nerve terminals in the brain and inhibits their uptake.

(Methamphetamine Hydrochloride, NCI Thesaurus)

The ability to manipulate these properties facilitates a controlled, localized activation and clearance mechanism of diseased or abnormal cells.

(Nanobomb, NCI Thesaurus)

A structural device designed to facilitate the attachment of one object to another.

(Mount Device Component, NCI Thesaurus)