Standard Lemma guide

facile

adj · 8 senses · updated from the 2026-07-25 local source snapshot

Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.

Sound

Pronunciation

Each Play button uses your device's default local English voice, or a natural local fallback. The selected voice name appears after playback. This is synthesized speech, not a source recording.

  • Received-Pronunciation: făsʹīl
  • Received-Pronunciation: /ˈfæs.aɪl/
  • Southern-England: Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.
  • General-American: făʹsəl
  • General-American: /ˈfæs.əl/
  • General-American: [ˈfæs.ɫ̩]
  • General-American: Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.
  • Scotland: /ˈfä.sʌɪl/
  • rhymes with -æsəl
  • CMU ARPABET: F AE1 S AH0 L Digits mark lexical stress: 1 primary, 2 secondary, 0 unstressed.

1

adj

Meaning 1

Easy; contemptibly easy.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: derogatory, usually

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

2

adj

Meaning 2

Amiable, flexible, easy to get along with.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: archaic

Examples

  • His facile disposition made him many friends.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

3

adj

Meaning 3

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

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Examples

  • Her writing was facile and articulate.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

4

adj

Meaning 4

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

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Examples

  • He arrived with a facile understanding of her works.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

5

adj

Meaning 5

Of a reaction or other process, taking place readily.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Topics: chemistry, natural-sciences, physical-sciences

Examples

  • Decarboxylation of beta-keto acids is facile.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

6

adjective satellite

Meaning 6

expressing yourself readily, clearly, effectively

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

Examples

  • able to dazzle with his facile tongue
  • silver speech

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: eloquent, fluent, silver, silver-tongued, smooth-spoken

Antonyms: none provided

7

adjective satellite

Meaning 7

performing adroitly and without effort

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

Examples

  • a facile hand

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

8

adjective satellite

Meaning 8

arrived at without due care or effort; lacking depth

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

Examples

  • too facile a solution for so complex a problem

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

History

Etymology

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 and Portuguese fácil (“easy”), Catalan fàcil, Romanian facil. First use appears c. 1484 in a translation by William Caxton.

Across languages

Translations

20 source translations are retained for this English entry.

  • Bashkir: еңел (yeñel) — easy, taking minimal effort
  • Bulgarian: лесен (lesen) — easy, taking minimal effort
  • Bulgarian: лесно постижим (lesno postižim) — easy, taking minimal effort
  • Czech: snadný — easy, taking minimal effort
  • Czech: lehký — easy, taking minimal effort
  • French: facile — easy, taking minimal effort
  • German: leicht — easy, taking minimal effort
  • German: mühelos — easy, taking minimal effort
  • Italian: facile — easy, taking minimal effort
  • Portuguese: simplório — easy, taking minimal effort
  • Romanian: facil — easy, taking minimal effort
  • Spanish: fácil — easy, taking minimal effort
  • Swedish: enkel — easy, taking minimal effort
  • Ottoman Turkish: قولای (kolay) — easy, taking minimal effort
  • Ottoman Turkish: بسیط (basît) — easy, taking minimal effort
  • Ottoman Turkish: یسیر (yesir) — easy, taking minimal effort
  • Bulgarian: гъвкав (gǎvkav) — amiable, flexible, easy to get along with
  • Bulgarian: податлив (podatliv) — amiable, flexible, easy to get along with
  • Czech: povrchní — superficial
  • Czech: plytký — superficial