simplify

[ sim-pluh-fahy ]

/ ˈsɪm pləˌfaɪ /

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR simplify ON THESAURUS.COM

verb (used with object), sim·pli·fied, sim·pli·fy·ing.

to make less complex or complicated; make plainer or easier: to simplify a problem.

Nearby words

simplex, simplex method, simplicidentate, simplicity, simplicius, simplify, simplism, simplistic, simplon, simplon pass, simply

Origin of simplify

1645–55; < French simplifier < Medieval Latin simplificāre to make simple, equivalent to Latin simpli- (combining form of simplus simple) + -ficāre -fy

Related forms

sim·pli·fi·ca·tion, nounsim·pli·fi·ca·tive, adjectivesim·pli·fi·er, sim·pli·fi·ca·tor, nounnon·sim·pli·fi·ca·tion, noun

su·per·sim·pli·fy, verb (used with object), su·per·sim·pli·fied, su·per·sim·pli·fy·ing.un·sim·pli·fied, adjectiveun·sim·pli·fy·ing, adjective

Can be confused

simple simplified simplistic

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for simplification

Mitt Romney, meanwhile, thinks that simplification is the answer.
GOP Debate Live Updates||October 18, 2011|DAILY BEAST
Nothing is more interesting to note in modern airships than the simplification of the method of car suspension.
The Romance of Aircraft|Lawrence Yard Smith
They hope, therefore, to derive some side-profits from the simplification of woman's dress.
The Intelligence of Woman|W. L. George
He advocated the revision and simplification of the whole code of laws—an idea afterwards carried out by the First Napoleon.
Character|Samuel Smiles

Like Millet, he had in an eminent degree the gift of simplification, the greatest quality that an artist can have.
The History of Modern Painting, Volume 2 (of 4)|Richard Muther
My mother asked Mr. Merivale if we might come down and see the simplification of life on its native heath.
The Angel of Pain|E. F. Benson

British Dictionary definitions for simplification

simplify

/ (ˈsɪmplɪˌfaɪ) /

verb -fies, -fying or -fied (tr)

to make less complicated, clearer, or easier

maths to reduce (an equation, fraction, etc) to a simpler form by cancellation of common factors, regrouping of terms in the same variable, etc

Derived Forms

simplification, nounsimplificative, adjectivesimplifier, noun

Word Origin for simplify

C17: via French from Medieval Latin simplificāre, from Latin simplus simple + facere to make

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012