Facility

Facility
Facility Fa*cil"i*ty (f[.a]*s[i^]l"[i^]*t[y^]), n.; pl. {Facilities} (f[.a]*s[i^]l"[i^]*t[i^]z). [L. facilitas, fr. facilis easy: cf. F. facilit['e]. See {Facile}.] 1. The quality of being easily performed; freedom from difficulty; ease; as, the facility of an operation. [1913 Webster]

The facility with which government has been overturned in France. --Burke. [1913 Webster]

2. Ease in performance; readiness proceeding from skill or use; dexterity; as, practice gives a wonderful facility in executing works of art. [1913 Webster]

3. Easiness to be persuaded; readiness or compliance; -- usually in a bad sense; pliancy. [1913 Webster]

It is a great error to take facility for good nature. --L'Estrange. [1913 Webster]

4. Easiness of access; complaisance; affability. [1913 Webster]

Offers himself to the visits of a friend with facility. --South. [1913 Webster]

5. That which promotes the ease of any action or course of conduct; advantage; aid; assistance; -- usually in the plural; as, special facilities for study.

Syn: Ease; expertness; readiness; dexterity; complaisance; condescension; affability.

Usage: {Facility}, {Expertness}, {Readiness}. These words have in common the idea of performing any act with ease and promptitude. Facility supposes a natural or acquired power of dispatching a task with lightness and ease. Expertness is the kind of facility acquired by long practice. Readiness marks the promptitude with which anything is done. A merchant needs great facility in dispatching business; a banker, great expertness in casting accounts; both need great readiness in passing from one employment to another. ``The facility which we get of doing things by a custom of doing, makes them often pass in us without our notice.'' --Locke. ``The army was celebrated for the expertness and valor of the soldiers.'' ``A readiness to obey the known will of God is the surest means to enlighten the mind in respect to duty.'' [1913 Webster]


The Collaborative International Dictionary of English. 2000.

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Synonyms:
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Look at other dictionaries:

  • facility — fa‧cil‧i‧ty [fəˈsɪlti] noun facilities PLURALFORM 1. facilities [plural] PROPERTY special buildings or equipment that have been provided for a particular use, such as sports activities, shopping or travelling: • The hotel s leisure facilities… …   Financial and business terms

  • facility — facility, faculty 1. Facility (from Latin facilis meaning ‘easy’) means ‘ease or ready ability to do something, aptitude’: • Firstborn children have greater verbal facility, and there is evidence that they have more successful relationships with… …   Modern English usage

  • facility — I (easiness) noun ability, adeptness, adroitness, capability, competence, deftness, dexterity, ease, effortlessness, expertise, expertness, facilitas, flexibility, fluency, freedom from difficulty, grace, gracefulness, proficiency, quickness,… …   Law dictionary

  • facility — [n1] ease; ability address, adroitness, aptitude, bent, child’s play*, competence, dexterity, efficiency, effortlessness, expertness, fluency, knack, leaning, lightness, poise, proficiency, propensity, quickness, readiness, skill, skillfulness,… …   New thesaurus

  • facility — [fə sil′ə tē] n. pl. facilities [ME & OFr facilite < L facilitas, easiness < facilis, FACILE] 1. ease of doing or making; absence of difficulty 2. a ready ability; skill; dexterity; fluency 3. [usually pl.] the means by which something can… …   English World dictionary

  • facility — (n.) early 15c., gentleness, from M.Fr. facilité, from L. facilitatem (nom. facilitas) easiness, ease, fluency, willingness, from facilis easy (see FACILE (Cf. facile)). Its sense in English moved from genteelness to opportunity (1510s), to… …   Etymology dictionary

  • facility — ease, dexterity, *readiness Analogous words: spontaneity, *unconstraint, abandon: address, poise, *tact: lightness, effortlessness, smoothness (see corresponding adjectives at EASY) Contrasted words: ineptness, clumsiness, awkwardness,… …   New Dictionary of Synonyms

  • facility — ► NOUN (pl. facilities) 1) a building, service, or piece of equipment provided for a particular purpose. 2) a natural ability to do something well and easily …   English terms dictionary

  • facility — noun 1 (usually facilities) buildings/services/equipment ADJECTIVE ▪ excellent, first class, good ▪ adequate, appropriate, proper, suitable …   Collocations dictionary

  • facility — 01. Our neighborhood swimming pool is a wonderful [facility], with a wave pool, diving boards, a huge water slide and lots of equipment for small children to play on. 02. Construction has finally begun on athletic [facilities] for the next summer …   Grammatical examples in English

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