facile
Americanadjective
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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
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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.
“Picasso: The Last Years, 1963-1973,” an exhibition at the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, suggests that this final frenzy was not a facile coda to an epic life.
From The Wall Street Journal ● May 7, 2026
Likewise, don’t expect anything noteworthy from a pal like Paul Simon, who would rather be facile about his friendship with Michaels than informative.
From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 17, 2026
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
We can easily imagine the real Scorsese has had to face similar ordeals with facile Hollywood suits.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 6, 2025
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
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.
