sim·ple

(sĭm′pəl)

adj. sim·pler, sim·plest

a. Having few parts or features; not complicated or elaborate: a house with a simple floor plan.

b. Easy to understand, do, or carry out: a simple set of instructions; a simple chore. See Synonyms at easy.

c. Having or composed of only one thing, element, or part: a simple chemical substance.

d. Being without additions or modifications; mere: a simple "yes" or "no."

e. Biology Having no divisions or branches; not compound: a simple leaf; a simple eye or lens.

f. Music Being without figuration or elaboration: a simple tone.

a. Having little or no ornamentation; not embellished or adorned: a simple dress. See Synonyms at plain.

b. Not characterized by luxury or elaborate commitments: simple living.

a. Not pretentious, guileful, or deceitful; humble or sincere: a simple child; told us about his achievement in the simplest manner.

b. Having or showing little intelligence, education, or experience: simple people who have trouble understanding health regulations. See Synonyms at naive.

c. Lowly in condition or rank: a simple woodcutter.

n. Archaic

A medicinal plant or the medicine obtained from it.

[Middle English, from Old French, from Latin simplus; see sem- in Indo-European roots and from simplex; see simplex.]

sim′ple·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.

ThesaurusAntonymsRelated WordsSynonymsLegend:

Noun	1.	simpleness - a lack of penetration or subtlety; "they took advantage of her simplicity" simple mindedness, simplicity naiveness, naivete, naivety - lack of sophistication or worldliness
	2.	simpleness - the quality of being simple or uncompounded; "the simplicity of a crystal" simplicity quality - an essential and distinguishing attribute of something or someone; "the quality of mercy is not strained"--Shakespeare
	3.	simpleness - freedom from difficulty or hardship or effort; "he rose through the ranks with apparent ease"; "they put it into containers for ease of transportation"; "the very easiness of the deed held her back" ease, easiness, simplicity effortlessness - the quality of requiring little effort; "such effortlessness is achieved only after hours of practice" quality - an essential and distinguishing attribute of something or someone; "the quality of mercy is not strained"--Shakespeare
	4.	simpleness - lack of ornamentation; "the room was simply decorated with great restraint" chasteness, restraint, simplicity plainness - the appearance of being plain and unpretentious

simpleness

noun

Lack of ostentation or pretension:

modesty, plainness, simplicity, unassumingness, unostentatiousness, unpretentiousness.

Translations

semplicità

enkelhet

Mentioned in

References in classic literature

In another book Caxton tells us that he knows his own "simpleness and unperfectness" in both French and English.

View in context

"Truly I find small difficulty here, the matter being even a child's affair for simpleness. An the young bride had conveyed notice, as in duty bound, to her feudal lord and proper master and protector the bishop, she had suffered no loss, for the said bishop could have got a dispensation making him, for temporary con- veniency, eligible to the exercise of his said right, and thus would she have kept all she had.

View in context

Simpleness of diet was prescribed to them, roots, pottage, gruels, eating flesh but thrice a-week, because the accustomed feeding on flesh is a dishonourable corruption of the body; and behold, their tables groan under delicate fare!

View in context

"That isn't simpleness, mama," he said, looking across the boulders behind the apple-trees where the hammocks were slung.

View in context

Contrast that simpleness with fun and funky cushions.

summer's last stand; There's still time to make the most of the outdoors while the sun is shining - just ensure you do it bright

However, the periodic cases do not hold for the theory due to not simpleness of the related eigenvalues.

Controllability and Observability of Nonautonomous Riesz-Spectral Systems