facile

Meaning

1. (derogatory, usually) Easy; contemptibly easy.
2. (archaic) Amiable, flexible, easy to get along with.
3. Effortless, fluent (of work, abilities etc.).
4. Lazy, simplistic, superficial (especially of explanations, discussions etc.).
5. Of a reaction or other process, taking place readily.

Synonyms

easy

simple

fluent

soft

comfortable

eloquent

superficial

effortless

silver-tongued

smooth-spoken

easily done

silver

hasty

hurried

jejune

liquid

obliging

plain

practicable

ready

simplified

simplistic

smooth

specious

trouble-free

undemanding

well done

witty

apt to

liable to

accommodating

lasy

agile

agreeable

amenable

appeasable

clever

complaisant

convenient

cushy

decipherable

elementary

flexible

Translations

facile

facile

fácil

leicht

makkelijk

vlot

gemakkelijk

superficial

licht

hêsan

facilis

einfach

fàcile

éloquent

Pronounced as (IPA)

/ˈfæs.aɪl/

Etymology

Cognate with Spanish: fácil

In summary

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 fácil (“easy”). First use appears c. 1484 in a translation by William Caxton.