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as in dumb
not having or showing an ability to absorb ideas readily don't be so quick to characterize people who have trouble with computers as simple

Synonyms & Similar Words

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

Synonym Chooser

How does the adjective simple contrast with its synonyms?

Some common synonyms of simple are easy, effortless, facile, light, and smooth. While all these words mean "not demanding effort or involving difficulty," simple stresses ease in understanding or dealing with because complication is absent.

a simple problem in arithmetic

When could easy be used to replace simple?

The meanings of easy and simple largely overlap; however, easy is applicable either to persons or things imposing tasks or to activity required by such tasks.

an easy college course

In what contexts can effortless take the place of simple?

While the synonyms effortless and simple are close in meaning, effortless stresses the appearance of ease and usually implies the prior attainment of artistry or expertness.

moving with effortless grace

How are the words facile and easy related as synonyms of simple?

Facile often adds to easy the connotation of undue haste or shallowness.

facile answers to complex questions

When is light a more appropriate choice than simple?

Although the words light and simple have much in common, light stresses freedom from what is burdensome.

a light teaching load

When is it sensible to use smooth instead of simple?

The synonyms smooth and simple are sometimes interchangeable, but smooth stresses the absence or removal of all difficulties, hardships, or obstacles.

a smooth ride

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of simple The women are simple, innocent, in need of protection; the men are wild, free, and inevitably drawn to the righteous path of loving these women. Proma Khosla, IndieWire, 13 Sep. 2025 Get inspired by a weekly roundup on living well, made simple. Don Riddell, CNN Money, 13 Sep. 2025 Each of these numbers have been made proportional to the area of an equilateral triangle, the sides of which are calculated using a simple formula. Vipin Bharathan, Forbes.com, 13 Sep. 2025 The Roku 55-inch Pro Series TV is $300 off and nails the balance of bright, colorful picture quality with a super simple interface that gets you streaming without fuss. PC Magazine, 12 Sep. 2025 See All Example Sentences for simple
Recent Examples of Synonyms for simple
Adjective
  • Place in a pastry bag fitted with a large plain tip.
    Caron Golden, San Diego Union-Tribune, 10 Sep. 2025
  • At the same time, v0 enables teams to generate responsive UIs directly from Figma designs or plain English descriptions, thereby minimizing the gap between vision and implementation.
    Paul Kovalenko, Forbes.com, 9 Sep. 2025
Adjective
  • While Kalitta seemed unaffected by the incident, Stewart took a while to get out of his dragster.
    Saajan Jogia, MSNBC Newsweek, 15 Sep. 2025
  • For example, many well-hydrated athletes experience cramps, while others competing in hot, humid conditions remain unaffected.
    Michael Hales, The Conversation, 9 Sep. 2025
Adjective
  • Well, despite Peaches dying, all Robbie got was a massive load of pure fentanyl.
    Grace Byron, Vulture, 15 Sep. 2025
  • Soon, boundary-free mowing took hold, powered by new technologies like pure vision, UWB, and RTK—each with merits and drawbacks.
    Ni Tao, Interesting Engineering, 15 Sep. 2025
Adjective
  • Summarizing decades of comics history is no easy task but the team pulls it off well here.
    Rob Wieland, Forbes.com, 17 Sep. 2025
  • Transforming Amazon into a startup-like environment isn’t an easy task.
    Annie Palmer, CNBC, 17 Sep. 2025
Adjective
  • By enjoying the exciting spectacle, their fans have willingly become mindless followers—idol worshippers who are too misguided, and naive, to see they’re being led toward their own destruction.
    Yvonne Kim, The Atlantic, 12 Sep. 2025
  • Speaking of burnout, that was the ultimate destination for the generation that came before, singed by their naive belief that adopting a neo-Stakhanovite approach to work and careers would pay off.
    Dave Smith, Fortune, 11 Sep. 2025
Adjective
  • The league might be skeptical that the Clippers were merely ignorant of the Aspiration-Leonard relationship and question why the team didn’t undertake more diligence.
    Michael McCann, Sportico.com, 10 Sep. 2025
  • Conversations that would’ve otherwise been fun and intellectually stimulating will start to feel childish and ignorant.
    Mark Travers, Forbes.com, 8 Sep. 2025
Adjective
  • Napier got a one-year honeymoon until a Week 1 loss at Utah in 2023, the year when the Gators committed a silly amount of dumb penalties (including the original instance of two guys wearing the same jersey).
    Stewart Mandel, New York Times, 10 Sep. 2025
  • The reigning Super Bowl champs better hope that’s the dumbest thing that one of their players does this season.
    Parker Gabriel, Denver Post, 6 Sep. 2025
Adjective
  • Water savings Copley said there was very little change, considering that the area was bare for some time before the drought tolerant landscape was installed.
    Caron Golden, San Diego Union-Tribune, 13 Sep. 2025
  • This year’s most ambitious chefs laid themselves bare, their autobiographical storytelling shaping singular restaurants.
    The Bon Appétit Staff, Bon Appetit Magazine, 12 Sep. 2025

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Cite this Entry

“Simple.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/simple. Accessed 17 Sep. 2025.

More from Merriam-Webster on simple

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