fac·ile

(făs′əl)

adj.

a. Done or achieved with little effort or difficulty; easy: a facile victory.

b. Working, acting, or done with ease and fluency: a facile writer; facile prose. See Synonyms at easy.

2. Arrived at or presented without due care, effort, or examination; superficial: We don't need another facile solution to a complex problem.

3. Archaic Pleasingly mild, as in disposition or manner.

[Middle English, from Old French, from Latin facilis; see dhē- in Indo-European roots.]

fac′ile·ly adv.

fac′ile·ness n.

American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

facile

(ˈfæsaɪl)

adj

1. easy to perform or achieve

2. working or moving easily or smoothly

3. without depth; superficial: a facile solution.

4. archaic relaxed in manner; easygoing

[C15: from Latin facilis easy, from facere to do]

ˈfacilely adv

ˈfacileness n

Collins English Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged, 12th Edition 2014 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2014

fac•ile

(ˈfæs ɪl; esp. Brit. -aɪl)

adj.

1. quick in comprehension or action: a facile mind.

2. superficial; shallow: a facile answer to a hard question.

3. easily accomplished or attained: a facile performance.

4. fluent; effortless: a facile writing style.

5. Archaic. easy or unconstrained, as manners or persons.

[1475–85; < Latin facilis easy =fac(ere) to make, do¹ + -ilis -ile¹]

fac′ile•ly, adv.

fac′ile•ness, n.

ThesaurusAntonymsRelated WordsSynonymsLegend:

Adj.	1.	facile - arrived at without due care or effort; lacking depth; "too facile a solution for so complex a problem" superficial - concerned with or comprehending only what is apparent or obvious; not deep or penetrating emotionally or intellectually; "superficial similarities"; "a superficial mind"; "his thinking was superficial and fuzzy"; "superficial knowledge"; "the superficial report didn't give the true picture"; "only superficial differences"
	2.	facile - performing adroitly and without effort; "a facile hand" effortless - requiring or apparently requiring no effort; "the swallows glided in an effortless way through the busy air"
	3.	facile - expressing yourself readily, clearly, effectively; "able to dazzle with his facile tongue"; "silver speech" eloquent, silver-tongued, smooth-spoken, fluent, silver articulate - expressing yourself easily or characterized by clear expressive language; "articulate speech"; "an articulate orator"; "articulate beings"

facile

adjective

1. superficial, shallow, slick, glib, hasty, cursory I hated him making facile suggestions when I knew the problem was extremely complex.

2. effortless, easy, simple, quick, ready, smooth, skilful, adept, fluent, uncomplicated, proficient, adroit, dexterous, light His facile win tells us he's in form.
effortless difficult, slow, careful, awkward, thoughtful, clumsy, intractable, maladroit, unskilful

Collins Thesaurus of the English Language – Complete and Unabridged 2nd Edition. 2002 © HarperCollins Publishers 1995, 2002

facile

adjective

1. Posing no difficulty:

easy, effortless, simple, smooth.

Informal: snap.

Idioms: easy as ABC, easy as falling off a log, easy as one-two-three, easy as pie, like taking candy from a baby, nothing to it.

2. Moving or performing quickly, lightly, and easily:

agile, brisk, nimble, quick, spry.

3. Characterized by ready but often insincere or superficial discourse:

glib, slick, smooth-tongued.

4. Exhibiting or possessing skill and ease in performance:

adroit, clever, deft, dexterous, handy, nimble, slick.

Translations

facile

[ˈfæsaɪl] ADJ [remark, expression] → superficial; [writer] → vulgar; [victory] → fácil

Collins Spanish Dictionary - Complete and Unabridged 8th Edition 2005 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1971, 1988 © HarperCollins Publishers 1992, 1993, 1996, 1997, 2000, 2003, 2005

facile

[ˈfæsaɪl] adj [explanation, suggestion, solution] → simpliste

Collins English/French Electronic Resource. © HarperCollins Publishers 2005

facile

adj (pej) person, mind, work of art → oberflächlich; optimism → blind; task → simpel; question → vordergründig; comparison, answer → billig; solution → billig, simpel; remark → nichtssagend; style → flüssig; it is facile to suggest that… → es lässt sich natürlich leicht sagen, dass …

Collins German Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged 7th Edition 2005. © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1980 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1997, 1999, 2004, 2005, 2007

facile

[ˈfæsaɪl] adj (gen) (pej) (remark, answer) → superficiale; (victory) → facile

Mentioned in

References in classic literature

When he has penetrated into hostile territory, but to no great distance, it is facile ground.

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It is true, that if the affection or aptness of the children be extraordinary, then it is good not to cross it; but generally the precept is good, optimum elige, suave et facile illud faciet consuetudo.

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Those facile and brilliant phrases and ideas struck me as the finest things I had yet known in literature, and I borrowed the book and read it through.

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In a moment Dirk was on his knees beside her, with his arms round her, kissing her, calling her all sorts of pet names, and the facile tears ran down his own cheeks.

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Rossetti is especially facile also with the sonnet.

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Its very situation--withdrawn a little behind the facile splendours of St.

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In a thousand ways he smoothed for me the path of knowledge and made the most abstruse inquiries clear and facile to my apprehension.

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This facile adaptation was at once the symptom of perfect health and its best preservative.

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Facile natures, whose emotions have little permanence, can hardly understand how much inward resistance he overcame before he rose from his seat and turned towards Arthur.

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"Dictez-nous quelquechose de facile pour commencer, monsieur."

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Distinction does not consist in the facile use of a contemptible set of conventions, but in being numbered among those who are true, and honest, and just, and pure, and lovely, and of good report--as you are, my Tess."

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During the eighteen months Philip had known him Clutton had grown more harsh and bitter; though he would not come out into the open and compete with his fellows, he was indignant with the facile success of those who did.

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