facile

A directive to perform the designated passage of a composition in a light, easy style. easily, without fussfluent.

easy Did you know? Facile comes from the Latin facilis, meaning "easy," and facere, "to make or do." The adjective can mean "easy" or "easily done," as befits its Latin roots, but it now often adds the meaning of undue haste or shallowness, as in "facile answers to complex questions."

But if something is too simple and superficial, or shows little care, it can also be called facile. "Being too cowardly to tell the truth and admit he didn't do it, he used the facile and sarcastic excuse that the dog ate his homework."

Some common synonyms of facile are easy, effortless, light, simple, and smooth. While all these words mean "not demanding effort or involving difficulty," facile often adds to easy the connotation of undue haste or shallowness.

(fæsaɪl , US -səl ) adjective. If you describe someone's arguments or suggestions as facile, you are criticizing them because their ideas are too simple and indicate a lack of careful, intelligent thinking. [disapproval]

easily done, performed, used easily done, performed, used, etc. a facile victory. a facile method. 3. easy or unconstrained, as manners or persons.

A facile reaction is one that is easy and simple to do.

If someone does something easily, or shows ease, it is described as facile in a good way, but if someone takes the easy way out and shows a lack of thought or care, it is facile in a bad way. While it is a lovely sounding French word, facile is both a compliment and an insult depending on how it's used.

easy or unconstrained, as manners or persons. affable, agreeable, or complaisant; easily influenced: a facile temperament; facile people.