facile
Americanadjective
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moving, acting, working, proceeding, etc., with ease, sometimes with superficiality.
facile fingers; a facile mind.
-
easily done, performed, used, etc..
a facile victory; a facile method.
- Synonyms:
- superficial
-
easy or unconstrained, as manners or persons.
-
affable, agreeable, or complaisant; easily influenced.
a facile temperament; facile people.
adjective
-
easy to perform or achieve
-
working or moving easily or smoothly
-
without depth; superficial
a facile solution
-
archaic relaxed in manner; easygoing
Other Word Forms
- facilely adverb
- facileness noun
- overfacile adjective
- overfacilely adverb
- unfacile adjective
- unfacilely adverb
Etymology
Origin of facile
1475–85; < Latin facilis that can be done, easy, equivalent to fac ( ere ) to do, make + -ilis -ile
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
I found myself irrationally angry about the way T-Mobile convinced the Backstreet Boys to parody “I Want It That Way” with facile sloganeering.
From Slate • Feb. 8, 2026
That this is all unfolding at a convent is an obvious irony, though as handled here it isn’t a cheap or facile one.
From The Wall Street Journal • Dec. 4, 2025
Neither do facile excuses like “economic anxiety” cut it.
From Salon • Aug. 9, 2025
It can seem a little facile, as it often does when you analyze the art in terms of the life, but it’s also fairly persuasive.
From Los Angeles Times • Sep. 6, 2024
He sniffed around, wrinkling his facile nose at the unfamiliar smell, then reached out a long curved black paw and tapped the white head.
From "The Incredible Journey" by Sheila Burnford
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.