facile

Etymology

Definitions

1. 1

   Easy

   Easy; contemptibly easy.

   • […] 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; […]
2. 2

   Amiable, flexible, easy to get along with.

   • His facile disposition made him many friends.
3. 3

   Effortless, fluent (of work, abilities etc.).

   • Her writing was facile and articulate.
   • 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.
   • 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.
4. ›+ 2 more definitionsshow fewer

   1. 4

      Lazy, simplistic, superficial (especially of explanations, discussions etc.).

      • He arrived with a facile understanding of her works.
      • There is a facile view that our green commitments – to tackling climate change, avoiding air and water pollution, protecting natural habitats – are an obstacle to growth. The message of the commodity markets is surely different.
   2. 5

      Of a reaction or other process, taking place readily.

      • Decarboxylation of beta-keto acids is facile.

The neighborhood

• neighbordifficulty
• neighborfacilitate
• neighborfacilitation
• neighborfacilitative
• neighborfacilitator
• neighborfacilitatory
• neighborfacility