simplify

[sim-pluh-fahy]

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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 simplus simple) + -ficāre -fy

Related formssim·pli·fi·ca·tion, nounsim·pli·fi·ca·tive, adjectivesim·pli·fi·er, sim·pli·fi·ca·tor, nounnon·sim·pli·fi·ca·tion, nounsu·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 confusedsimple simplified simplistic

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

Examples from the Web for simplify

Contemporary Examples of simplify

“He got me away from jazz and helped me simplify my craft and began my commercial songwriting thing,” she says.
The Making of Kiesza: From Navy Sharpshooter to Beauty Queen to Pop Diva
Marlow Stern
October 20, 2014
But Erdoğan is either unaware of that or sought to simplify history.
Turkish President Declares Lawrence of Arabia a Bigger Enemy than ISIS
Jamie Dettmer
October 13, 2014
Second Market provides solutions for private companies and investment funds to simplify private capital markets.
Inside Japan’s Bitcoin Heist
Jake Adelstein
February 28, 2014
Big business has been begging for comprehensive tax reform that will simplify their lives.
Mystery Solved: Here’s Why Big Business Keeps Supporting Republicans Even as Republicans Destroy the Economy
Daniel Gross
October 3, 2013
To simplify it radically: under federal law, individuals can give up to $2,600 to any candidate in any election cycle.
The Court Case That Pivots on What ‘Corrupt’ Really Means
Lawrence Lessig
September 26, 2013

Historical Examples of simplify

Can we not simplify life as we are simplifying the machinery of industry?
The Book of Khalid
Ameen Rihani
And when the world is ripe for it another will come and simplify that.
The Stark Munro Letters
J. Stark Munro
Special fittings are provided to simplify the work of burning.
The Automobile Storage Battery
O. A. Witte
Perhaps some may ask what harm it will do, to simplify language, when talking to children.
The Teacher
Jacob Abbott
All I ask is that you should simplify the matter by telling me what occurred at your interview.
The Grell Mystery
Frank Froest

British Dictionary definitions for simplify

simplify

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 Formssimplification, 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

Word Origin and History for simplify

1650s, from French simplifier "to make simpler" (15c.), from Medieval Latin simplificare "to simplify," from Latin simplex "simple" (see simplex) + root of facere "to make" (see factitious). Meaning "to make easier to do" is from 1759. Related: Simplified; simplifying.