The verb facilitate is closest in meaning to which of the following words?

Introduction / Context:
This question tests your understanding of the verb facilitate, a common word in formal English. It often appears in academic writing, business reports, and exam passages. Knowing its meaning and recognising its closest everyday synonym is important for reading comprehension and precise communication. The options mix a correct synonym with near opposites, so careful attention to meaning is required.

Given Data / Assumptions:

• The target word is the verb facilitate.
• Option A help is a common verb meaning to make something easier for someone.
• Option B halt means to stop or bring to a standstill.
• Option C check can mean to stop, control, or limit progress.
• Option D all of the above would only be correct if every listed word were close in meaning to facilitate.

Concept / Approach:
Facilitate means to make a process or action easier or more likely to happen. For example, good planning can facilitate success, meaning it helps success to occur. This is clearly close to help in sense. In contrast, halt and check describe actions that slow, block, or stop progress. These are almost opposite to facilitate, because they create difficulty instead of removing it. Therefore, the only option that reflects the meaning of facilitate is help. The phrase facilitate learning can often be rephrased as help students learn more easily.

Step-by-Step Solution:
Step 1: Recall a simple definition of facilitate: to make something easier or to assist in making something happen.Step 2: Compare this with option A help, which also means to assist or make an activity easier. The connection is strong.Step 3: Consider option B halt, meaning to stop or pause something. This conflicts with the idea of making progress easier.Step 4: Consider option C check, which often means limit or restrain, such as to check the spread of a disease. Again, this does not match making something easier.Step 5: Since both halt and check contradict the meaning of facilitate, option D all of the above cannot be right. Only help works as a near synonym.

Verification / Alternative check:
We can test the options in sentences. Take the sentence The new software will facilitate communication between departments. If we replace facilitate with help, the sentence becomes The new software will help communication between departments, which keeps the same idea. Replacing facilitate with halt or check produces The new software will halt communication or check communication, which changes the meaning completely and sounds negative. This simple substitution test confirms that help is the correct match.

Why Other Options Are Wrong:
Option B halt suggests stopping or interrupting a process, which is the opposite of making it easier. Option C check usually means restrain, control, or stop something from spreading, again the reverse direction of facilitate. Because both B and C are contrary in meaning, the option all of the above is automatically invalid. Only option A captures the core idea of assistance and ease.

Common Pitfalls:
A common error is to choose all of the above when you see familiar words and do not carefully analyse each one. Another pitfall is confusing facilitate with accelerate, assuming it always means speed up. While facilitating can sometimes speed up a process, its main focus is on removing obstacles or difficulty, not necessarily on speed alone. Remember the link facilitate equals make easier or help to avoid confusion in vocabulary exams.

Final Answer:
The word facilitate is most similar in meaning to Help, so option A is correct.