facile
Americanadjective
-
moving, acting, working, proceeding, etc., with ease, sometimes with superficiality.
facile fingers; a facile mind.
-
easily done, performed, used, etc..
a facile victory; a facile method.
- Synonyms:
- superficial
-
easy or unconstrained, as manners or persons.
-
affable, agreeable, or complaisant; easily influenced.
a facile temperament; facile people.
adjective
-
easy to perform or achieve
-
working or moving easily or smoothly
-
without depth; superficial
a facile solution
-
archaic relaxed in manner; easygoing
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of facile
1475–85; < Latin facilis that can be done, easy, equivalent to fac ( ere ) to do, make + -ilis -ile
Explanation
If someone does something easily, or shows ease, it is described as facile in a good way, but if someone takes the easy way out and shows a lack of thought or care, it is facile in a bad way. While it is a lovely sounding French word, facile is both a compliment and an insult depending on how it's used. Something that shows ready skill is facile, such as being facile with text messaging. But if something is too simple and superficial, or shows little care, it can also be called facile. "Being too cowardly to tell the truth and admit he didn't do it, he used the facile and sarcastic excuse that the dog ate his homework."
Vocabulary lists containing facile
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Make Do: Fac
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Facile comparisons between the two risk obscuring the facts of each, all in the name of illumination.
From Slate • Mar. 13, 2022
Facile, condescending arguments from a Econ Ph.D in the NY Times - and you wonder why we're angry.
From New York Times • May 6, 2016
Facile primus dixisse fertur, et a nullo negatur.
From Slate • Feb. 11, 2013
Facile comparisons do not do justice to this still unfolding drama.
From The Guardian • May 29, 2010
Of course, the harmonic motion of the Facile pedal is superior to the equable reciprocating motion employed in some machines where speed is an object, especially with small wheels.
From Scientific American Supplement, No. 447, July 26, 1884 by Various
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
