facile

Borrowed from Middle French facile, from Latin facilis (“easy to do, easy, doable”), from faciō (“I do, make”). Compare Spanish Spanish fácil ("easy").

• (Received Pronunciation) enPR: făsʹīl IPA^(key): /ˈfæs.aɪl/

  • Audio (Southern England)

    (file)

• (General American) enPR: făʹsəl IPA^(key): /ˈfæ.səl/
• (Scotland) IPA^(key): /ˈfä.sʌɪl/
• Rhymes: -æsəl

facile (comparative more facile, superlative most facile)

1. Easy, now especially in a disparaging sense; contemptibly easy. [from 15th c.]
   • 1624, Democritus Junior [pseudonym; Robert Burton], The Anatomy of Melancholy: […], 2nd edition, Oxford, Oxfordshire: Printed by John Lichfield and James Short, for Henry Cripps, OCLC 54573970:

     , vol.I, New York, 2001, p.243:

     as he that is benumbed with cold sits shaking, that might relieve himself with a little exercise or stirring, do they complain, but will not use the facile and ready means to do themselves good […].

2. (now rare) Amiable, flexible, easy to get along with. [from 16th c.]

   His facile disposition made him many friends.

3. Effortless, fluent (of work, abilities etc.). [from 17th c.]
   • 1932, Duff Cooper, Talleyrand, Folio Society 2010, p. 54:

     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.

   • 1940 July, “Railway Literature: The History of Bradshaw. By G. Royde Smith. London: Henry Blacklock & Co., Bradshaw House, Surrey Street, Strand, W.C.2; [...] 76pp. Illustrated. Price 3s. 6d. net.”, in Railway Magazine, page 432:

     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.

   • 1974, Graham Greene, The Honorary Consul, Pocket Books, New York, p.54:

     "Discipline," Jorge Julio Saavedra was repeating, "is more necessary to me than to other more facile writers.

   • 1990, Peter Hopkirk, The Great Game, Folio Society 2010, p. 372:

     A facile and persuasive writer, he also turned out countless newspaper articles on Russian aims in Central Asia and how best these could be thwarted.

4. Lazy, simplistic (especially of explanations, discussions etc.). [from 19th c.]
   • 2012, Chris Huhne, The Guardian, 3 May 2012:

     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.

5. (chemistry) Of a reaction or other process, taking place readily.

   Decarboxylation of beta-keto acids is facile...

• (skillful): See also Thesaurus:skillful

• facilitation
• facilitative
• facilitate
• facilitator
• facilitatory
• facility

• facile in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, G. & C. Merriam, 1913
• facile in The Century Dictionary, New York, N.Y.: The Century Co., 1911
• facile at OneLook Dictionary Search

• fecial

• IPA^(key): /faˈtsi.le/

• Audio

  (file)

facile

1. easily

• malfacile (“with difficulty”)

• facila (“easy”)
• facili (“to be easy”)

Borrowed from Latin facilis (“easy”), from faciō (“I do, make”).

• IPA^(key): /fa.sil/

• Audio (France, Paris)

  (file)

• Homophone: faciles
• Hyphenation: fa‧cile

facile (plural faciles)

1. easy, simple

   Il n'est pas facile de vivre avec le diabète. ― It is not easy to live with diabetes.

   Il est facile à comprendre. ― He is easy to understand.

   • 2020, “Couvre-feu : le désarroi des restaurateurs français”, in France 24‎:

     "Certes, ce n'est pas facile d'avoir 20 ans en 2020", concède Frank Delvau, reprenant l'expression utilisée par Emmanuel Macron, la veille.

     "Certainly, it's not easy to be twenty years old in 2020," Frank Delvau conceded, picking up the expression used by Emmanuel Macron the day before.

   Antonym: difficile (“difficult”)

2. (derogatory, chiefly of women) easy, promiscuous (consenting readily to sex)

   une fille facile ― an easy lay, a trollop

The preposition de is used with an impersonal subject, and à with a non-impersonal one.

• avoir la gâchette facile
• plus facile à dire qu'à faire

• faire

• “facile”, in Trésor de la langue française informatisé [Digitized Treasury of the French Language], 2012.

• ficela

facile

1. easily

• facila

facile (comparative plus facile, superlative le plus facile)

1. easy

• difficile

Probably borrowed from Latin facilis (“easy”), from faciō (“to do, make”).

• IPA^(key): /ˈfa.t͡ʃi.le/

• Audio

  (file)

• Rhymes: -atʃile
• Hyphenation: fà‧ci‧le

facile (plural facili, superlative facilissimo)

1. easy
2. cosy
3. effortless

• facilmente

• facilità
• facilitare
• facilone
• fare

• cefali, faleci, fecali

From the neuter accusative case form of facilis.

• facul (anteclass.)

facile (comparative facilius, superlative facillimē)

1. easily

   Synonym: faciliter

   Antonyms: difficilē, difficulter, difficiliter, vix, aegre

facile

1. nominative/accusative/vocative neuter singular of facilis

• “facile”, in Charlton T. Lewis and Charles Short (1879) A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
• “facile”, in Charlton T. Lewis (1891) An Elementary Latin Dictionary, New York: Harper & Brothers
• Carl Meißner; Henry William Auden (1894) Latin Phrase-Book‎, London: Macmillan and Co.
  • an easy, fluent style: expedita et facile currens oratio
    
  • that is self-evident, goes without saying: hoc facile intellegi potest
    

1441, borrowed from Latin facilis[1].

facile m or f (plural faciles)

1. easy (not difficult)