What does “facile” mean?
- 1
adjectivetoo simple and not showing careful thought
He offered a facile answer to a very complex problem.
- 2
adjectivedone easily and with little effort
She won a facile victory in the first round.
Facile at a glance
- Part of speech
- adjective
- CEFR level
- C2 (proficient)
- Pronunciation
- /ˈfæsəl/ · FASS-ul
How to use “facile” correctly
Usually negative in modern English: a “facile” argument is shallow. Don’t confuse it with the neutral word “easy”.
Synonyms, opposites and related words
Synonyms (similar meaning)
- simplistic
- superficial
- glib
“facile” is on these word lists
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