simplify

[ sim-pluh-fahy ]

See synonyms for: simplify simplified simplifies simplification 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.

Origin of simplify

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

Other words from simplify

sim·pli·fi·ca·tion, noun
sim·pli·fi·ca·tive, adjective
sim·pli·fi·er, sim·pli·fi·ca·tor, noun
non·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, adjective
un·sim·pli·fy·ing, adjective

Words that may be confused with simplify

simple, simplified , simplistic

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use simplify in a sentence

Because the right kitchen tools can help you simplify home cooking and maybe even help you shed a few pounds in the process, we’ve outlined the best products to help you if you’re trying to lose weight by changing your diet.
8 Handy Kitchen Products To Help You Eat Healthier On Your Weight Loss Journey | Charli Penn | October 9, 2020 | Essence.com
The way forward requires that brands simplify complex data analysis and understand key market drivers in real-time, across millions or billions of data points.
BrightEdge launches market insights and shares updates on new purchasing behaviors | Jim Yu | October 9, 2020 | Search Engine Watch
They spent the first year solving a simplified version of the problem, to get a sense of the challenges they were facing.
Computer Scientists Break Traveling Salesperson Record | Erica Klarreich | October 8, 2020 | Quanta Magazine
The product — available here — is aimed at simplifying management across search and social through automation, but these updates indicate Microsoft is also listening to user feedback requests for additional manual controls and data visibility.
Microsoft’s Digital Marketing Center for search and social management adds features, opens beta | Ginny Marvin | October 7, 2020 | Search Engine Land
By drastically simplifying our entire palm oil supply chain, we’re reducing the number of mills we source from and bringing that number down to less than 100 by next year.
How we’re ending deforestation in Mars’ palm oil supply chain | jakemeth | October 7, 2020 | Fortune

Talking about Israel's "rightward" shift is an over-simplification.
Understanding John Kerry's Logic | Bernard Avishai | July 22, 2013 | THE DAILY BEAST
This is what Tim Cook is going to suggest today, again as part of a broader simplification effort.
Congress to Grill Apple CEO About Taxes | Megan McArdle | May 21, 2013 | THE DAILY BEAST
To say that the Black Death ended and the Renaissance began is not only a simplification, but incorrect.
Fact-Checking Dan Brown’s ‘Inferno’: 10 Mistakes, False Statements, and Oversimplifications | Noah Charney | May 20, 2013 | THE DAILY BEAST
Their first step should be a revenue-raising tax simplification.
How Can the Republicans Take Back the Majority? | Megan McArdle | November 9, 2012 | THE DAILY BEAST
Racism, like any form of bigotry, is a crude simplification, reducing an entire race into a slim range of undesirable qualities.
American Dreams: 1912, ‘The Autobiography of an Ex-Coloured Man’ | Nathaniel Rich | February 20, 2012 | THE DAILY BEAST
In the last Act a good deal of gunpowder is burned advantageously to the simplification of the issue.
Punch, or the London Charivari, Vol. 93, September 24, 1887 | Various
But when the modes of production are reduced to one, we cannot, in point of simplification, go any further.
A System of Logic: Ratiocinative and Inductive | John Stuart Mill
This is the broadest simplification to which it is possible to reduce things.
The Hidden Power | Thomas Troward
But in your simplification, said Evelyn, indicating the table, you dont leave out that sort of thing.
The Angel of Pain | E. F. Benson
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 simplify

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

Origin of simplify

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

Derived forms of simplify

simplification, noun
simplificative, adjective
simplifier, noun

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

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