facile

American  

[fas-il, -ahyl] / ˈfæs ɪl, -aɪl /

adjective

1. moving, acting, working, proceeding, etc., with ease, sometimes with superficiality.

   facile fingers; a facile mind.

   Synonyms:

   glib, fluent, flowing, smooth

2. easily done, performed, used, etc..

   a facile victory; a facile method.

   Synonyms:

   superficial

3. easy or unconstrained, as manners or persons.

   Synonyms:

   urbane, suave, bland

4. affable, agreeable, or complaisant; easily influenced.

   a facile temperament; facile people.

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facile British  

/ ˈfæsaɪl /

adjective

1. easy to perform or achieve

2. working or moving easily or smoothly

3. without depth; superficial

   a facile solution

4. archaic relaxed in manner; easygoing

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Other Word Forms

• facilely adverb
• facileness noun
• overfacile adjective
• overfacilely adverb
• unfacile adjective
• unfacilely adverb

Etymology

Origin of facile

1475–85; < Latin facilis that can be done, easy, equivalent to fac ( ere ) to do, make + -ilis -ile

Example Sentences

I found myself irrationally angry about the way T-Mobile convinced the Backstreet Boys to parody “I Want It That Way” with facile sloganeering.

From Slate • Feb. 8, 2026

What gets lost in facile critiques of gentrification, however, is its generative power.

From The Wall Street Journal • Oct. 9, 2025

A facile “Prophecy” reader might joke that the channel is substituting spaceships for dragons.

From Salon • Nov. 17, 2024

Rohrwacher, who grew up in central Italy, makes movies that resist facile categorization and concise synopsis.

From New York Times • Mar. 28, 2024

R. T. Jones, the engineer who had intervened on behalf of the black man with the Hampton police, had beguiled Langley managers immediately with his facile mind.

From "Hidden Figures" by Margot Lee Shetterly

Related Words

• effortless
• glib
• hasty