facile

adjective fac·ile \ˈfa-səl\

: too simple : not showing enough thought or effort

: done or achieved in a way that is too easy

: working, moving, or performing well and very easily

Full Definition of FACILE

a (1) : easily accomplished or attained <a facile victory> (2) : shallow, simplistic <I am not concerned … with offering any facile solution for so complex a problem — T. S. Eliot>

b : used or comprehended with ease

c : readily manifested and often lacking sincerity or depth <facile tears>

archaic : mild or pleasing in manner or disposition

a : ready, fluent <facile prose>

b : poised, assured

— fac·ile·ly \-sə(l)-lē\ adverb

— fac·ile·ness \-səl-nəs\ noun

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Examples of FACILE

But in the less palmy days of their marriage and the final years of his life, Lennon produced (with Yoko's help) shallow, facile recordings that cannibalized his early work. —Francine Prose, The Lives of the Muses, 2002
Melville shrank from atheism, and from all facile theisms. —John Updike, Hugging the Shore, (1983) 1984
… I saw that my old enemy was dead, Amy [Lowell], noble Amy. How I despised myself then for my facile self-pity and for my failure to die—how she seemed to have worsted me once again. —Conrad Aiken, 14 May 1925, in Selected Letters of Conrad Aiken, 1978
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Origin of FACILE

Middle French, from Latin facilis, from facere to do — more at do

First Known Use: 15th century

Related to FACILE

Synonyms: superficial, one-dimensional, shallow, skin-deep

Antonyms: deep, profound

Synonym Discussion of FACILE

easy, facile, simple, light, effortless, smooth mean not demanding effort or involving difficulty. easy is applicable either to persons or things imposing tasks or to activity required by such tasks <an easy college course>. facile often adds to easy the connotation of undue haste or shallowness <facile answers to complex questions>. simple stresses ease in understanding or dealing with because complication is absent <a simple problem in arithmetic>. light stresses freedom from what is burdensome <a light teaching load>. effortless stresses the appearance of ease and usually implies the prior attainment of artistry or expertness <moving with effortless grace>. smooth stresses the absence or removal of all difficulties, hardships, or obstacles <a smooth ride>.