To make something difficult or hard to accomplish; to create obstacles or complications.
From Late Latin 'difficilitare,' derived from 'difficilis' (difficult). The verb suffix '-ate' means to make or cause. This is related to 'facilitate' (to make easy), with 'dis-' inverted to mean the opposite.
This archaic verb is the opposite of 'facilitate'—while few use it today, it's a perfect example of how English once had paired opposites with different roots rather than using negative prefixes.
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