‘Facilitate’ means to enable a process to happen or to make it happen more easily.

Examples:

• Technology has facilitated the spread of distance education.
• The government facilitates young entrepreneurs by providing start up funding and technical and legal support.

Collocations: When you learn new vocab, make sure that you note collocations too. For this group of words some collocations are:
evolve from, evolution of
expansion of, expansion into, expand from
expose of, expose to, exposed by
external hiring, external opportunities
facility for, facilitation of, facilitation by

Check the meanings of the words if you don’t already know them. Check the meanings of the various forms as sometimes they are different. You can check them at Time4english by clicking the words (http://www.time4english.com/aamain/lounge/awl.asp).

Vocabulary for IELTS – Academic Word List 53

Complete the sentences below with the correct form of the word.

1. The medical _______________ are adequately equipped to cope with most contagious outbreaks. (facility, evolve)
2. The ______________ from baby to adult is a long process. (expand, evolve)
3. Climate change _______________ insurance companies to greater risk than previously. (expose, external)
4. The _______________ of the Health Sciences buildings began three months ago. (expose expand)
5. It is an old house with an _______________bathroom. (external, facilitate)

Answers (in the wrong order)
1. facilities   3. exposes    4. expansion    2. evolution     5. external