Facile Meaning
/ˈfæs.aɪl/Definition, CEFR level C2, pronunciation, examples, and quiz.
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Definition
adjEasy; contemptibly easy.
adjAmiable, flexible, easy to get along with.
Sentence Examples
The hunger for facile wisdom is the root of all false philosophy.
It's not that your criticism is too controversial, but that it's facile.
Synonyms & Antonyms
Synonyms:
Antonyms:
CEFR Practice Quiz
His ____ explanation ignored the complex details of the issue.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
It was a ____ argument that ignored the complex reality of the situation and the many factors involved.
Word Origin & History
Borrowed from Middle French facile, from Latin facilis (“easy to do, easy, doable”), from Latin facere (“to do, make”), from Proto-Indo-European *dʰeh₁- (“to do, put”) Compare Spanish and Portuguese fácil (“easy”), Catalan fàcil, Romanian facil. First use appears c. 1484 in a translation by William Caxton.
Literary Quotations & Historical Citations
"[…] as he that is benummed with cold, sits still shaking, that might relieve himselfe with a little exercise or stirring, doe they complaine, but will not use the facile and ready meanes to doe themselves good; […]"
— 1638, Democritus Junior [pseudonym; Robert Burton], The Anatomy of Melancholy. […], 5th edition, Oxford, Oxfordshire: […] [Robert Young, Miles Flesher, and Leonard Lichfield and William Turner] for Henry Cripps, →OCLC, page 85:
"we can learn the impression that he made upon a stranger and a foreigner at this period, thanks to the facile pen of Fannu Burney."
— 1932, Duff Cooper, Talleyrand, Folio Society, published 2010, page 54:
"The centenary of Bradshaw has proved further scope in the railway field for his facile pen to be devoted to an officially-sponsored work, and the "most famous guide in the world" is fortunate in its choice of a biographer."
— 1940 July, “Railway Literature: The History of Bradshaw. By G. Royde Smith. London: Henry Blacklock & Co., Bradshaw House, Surrey Street, Strand, W.C.2; … 76pp. Illustrated. Price 3s. 6d. net.”, in Railway Magazine, page 432:
""Discipline," Jorge Julio Saavedra was repeating, "is more necessary to me than to other more facile writers."
— 1974, Graham Greene, The Honorary Consul, New York: Pocket Books, page 54:
"A facile and persuasive writer, he also turned out countless newspaper articles on Russian aims in Central Asia and how best these could be thwarted."
— 1990, Peter Hopkirk, The Great Game, Folio Society, published 2010, page 372:
Explore More C2 Vocabulary Words
CEFR Practice Quiz
His ____ explanation ignored the complex details of the issue.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
It was a ____ argument that ignored the complex reality of the situation and the many factors involved.