Health Literacy Thesaurus: Medical terms, phrases, references,
and their Plain English equivalents or definitions

F (facilitate - fundamental)

Step 1: Click "Next" to show the term, phrase, or reference. Step 2: Click "Next" again
to show the Plain English equivalent or definition; Repeat Steps 1 and 2. (Best viewed on Firefox or Chrome)
facilitatemake easier, help
factorcause, reason
failed todid not
fallacyerror, myth, not true
fastgo without any food or drink, not eat or drink anything
fatiguetired, weak feeling of the whole body, feeling tired all over
feasiblepossible, doable, workable, can be done, can do
febrilecaused by a fever, feverish
finalizecomplete, end, finish, settle
flarea period of time when symptoms of a disease are worse, when your disease hurts more than normal
flexiblemoving easily, stretch easily, bend and stretch without hurting
fluctuatechange, rise and fall, go back and forth from high to low
fracturebreak
frequentlyoften, commonly, normally, regularly, many times
fundamentalbasic, real

Source: CDC Plain Language Thesaurus for Health Communications. Other related materials: Vaccines & Immunizations Glossary; Harvard School of Public Health "Plain Language Glossaries" for asthma, arthritis, and lupus; Medical Library Association "Deciphering Medspeak" for diabetes, stroke, and HIV-AIDS


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