simple
[adjective]
Synonyms:
- easy, clear, intelligible, lucid, plain, straightforward, uncomplicated, understandable, uninvolved
- plain, classic, natural, unembellished, unfussy
- pure, elementary, unalloyed, uncombined, unmixed
- artless, childlike, guileless, ingenuous, innocent, naive, natural, sincere, unaffected, unsophisticated
- honest, bald, basic, direct, frank, naked, plain, sincere, stark
- humble, homely, modest, unpretentious
- feeble-minded, foolish, half-witted, moronic, slow, stupid

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Antonyms: elaborate, wise, complex, complicated
Contrasted words: able, competent, alert, clever, keen, bright, intelligent, understanding
Related Idioms: simple as ABC
Related Words: childish, childlike, amateur, green, unexperienced, trusting, square, inexperienced, inexpert, credulous, gullible, naive, ignorant, illiterate, uneducated, unschooled, untaught, crass, dense, dopey, dull, dumb, slow, stupid, doting, feebleminded, idiotic, retarded, simpleminded, inelaborate, stark, bald, bare, mere, fundamental, uncompounded, incomplex, incomplicate

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English Thesaurus: easy, simple, straightforward, user-friendly, undemanding, ...

[TahlilGaran] English Synonym Dictionary ▲

sim‧ple S1 W1 /ˈsɪmpəl/ adjective (comparative simpler, superlative simplest)
[Word Family: noun: simplicity, simplification, simpleton; adverb: simply, simplistically; adjective: simple, simplistic; verb: simplify]
[Date: 1200-1300; Language: Old French; Origin: 'plain, uncomplicated', from Latin simplus, from sim- 'one' + -plus 'multiplied by']

1. EASY not difficult or complicated to do or understand:
a simple but effective solution to the problem
There is no simple answer to this question.
I’m sure there’s a perfectly simple explanation.
simple to use/make/operate etc
Modern cameras are very simple to use.
relatively/fairly/quite etc simple
There are relatively simple exercises to build strength.
We want to keep the costumes as simple as possible.
We can’t pay people any more money until the company is more profitable. I’m afraid it’s as simple as that.

2. PLAIN made in a plain style, without a lot of decoration or unnecessary things added:
She dressed with simple elegance.
simple but delicious food
a building constructed in a simple classic style

3. ONLY [usually before noun] used to emphasize that only one thing is involved:
Completing the race is not just a simple matter of physical fitness.
The simple fact is, he’s not very good at his job.
Their motive was greed, pure and simple.

4. NOT HAVING MANY PARTS made or built of only a few parts, and not having a complicated structure:
It’s a very simple machine.
They evolved from simple life forms that existed millions of years ago.

5. ORDINARY honest and ordinary and not special in any way:
Joe was just a simple farmer.

6. GRAMMAR technical simple tenses are not formed with an auxiliary such as ‘have’ or ‘be’

7. the simple life life without too many possessions or modern machines, usually in the countryside

8. STUPID [not before noun] someone who is simple is not very intelligent:
I’m afraid Luke’s a bit simple.

[TahlilGaran] Dictionary of Contemporary English ▲

simple
adj.
VERBS appear, be, look, prove, seem, sound | keep sth, make sth The golden rule when creating your design is: keep it simple. Is all this technology making our lives simpler?
find sth I found the work fairly simple.
ADV. extremely, quite, very Don't worry?it's all quite simple.
fairly, pretty, rather, relatively | deceptively a deceptively simple technique

[TahlilGaran] Collocations Dictionary ▲

simple

very/extremely/incredibly simple
I came up with a very simple answer to this problem.
relatively/fairly/quite simple
The rules are quite simple.
deceptively simple (=seeming simple, but in fact complicated or difficult)
It’s a deceptively simple idea, but it’s very difficult to put into practice.
perfectly simple
Well? It’s a perfectly simple question.
simple to use/make/operate etc
The machine is very simple to use.
simple but effective
Any child’s behaviour can be improved by this simple but effective technique.
keep something simple
Keep your explanation as simple as possible.

[TahlilGaran] Collocations Dictionary ▲

easy not difficult to do, and not needing much effort:
an easy task
The house was easy to find.
simple easy and not complicated – used about things such as instructions and explanations, or about machines and systems:
The system is relatively simple to operate.
a simple recipe for chocolate cake
straightforward easy to understand or do, and unlikely to cause you any problems:
a straightforward explanation
The calculation is fairly straightforward.
user-friendly easy to use – used especially about computers or written information about how to do something:
Their website is very user-friendly.
a user-friendly guide to owning a dog
undemanding easy because it does not take a lot of effort:
It was an undemanding role for someone of his experience.
cushy /ˈkʊʃi/ informal a cushy job is easy to do and needs very little effort – often used when you are envious of the person who has it:
It’s a pretty cushy job – all she has to do is drive a nice car around.
a cushy number (=a very easy job)
mindless so easy that you can do it without thinking – used especially when it makes you feel bored:
mindless tasks
painless without any difficulties or problems – used especially when you expected something to be much worse:
Finding the carhire place at the airport was relatively painless.
Thankfully, there's a wide selection of search tools to make the task relatively painless.
be plain sailing British English, be smooth sailing American English to be easy and with no problems that you have to deal with:
Things should be plain sailing from now on.
be a piece of cake informal to be very easy to do, especially compared to doing something else:
This test was a piece of cake compared to the last one.
be child’s play informal to be surprisingly easy, or much easier than something else which is very difficult or dangerous:
Getting people’s credit card details is child’s play when you know how to do it.
Climbing in England is child’s play compared to climbing in the Himalayas.
be a breeze informal (also be a doddle British English) to be very easy to do:
The software is a doddle to use.
The check-in process was a breeze.
it’s not rocket science informal used when saying that something is very easy to do or understand, and you do not need to be intelligent to do it:
Making your PC run faster isn’t exactly rocket science.

[TahlilGaran] English Thesaurus ▲

plain without anything added, or without decoration:
a plain shirt
The fireplace was plain apart from a small design at the top.
simple not having a lot of decoration or unnecessary things, but attractive:
She was wearing a simple black dress.
The accommodation is simple but clean.
austere very plain and with very little decoration, or very little in it – used about a room or place that does not make you feel welcome:
He dreaded having dinner in that austere dining room.
The building was grey and a little austere.
the austere beauty and grandeur of mountain scenery
spartan plain and without anything that would make life easier or more comfortable – used especially about rooms, conditions, or ways of living:
Her apartment is quite spartan.
They had a very spartan life.
stark very plain in a surprising way, with very little colour or decoration – used about rooms and places:
Sam sat looking at the stark white walls.
It is a landscape of stark beauty.
bare empty, or not covered by any decorations:
Her office seemed very bare now that her desk had gone.
He was tired of looking at the bare walls of his prison cell.
the open plain(s)
On the open plains of east Africa are zebras, antelopes, and gazelles.
the vast/great plain(s)
Beyond lay the vast plains of the Central Valley.
a flat plain
Here a group of small hills rises unexpectedly out of the flat plain.
a grassy plain
The village is situated on the high grassy plains at the foot of the Sierra.
a fertile plain
The rains washed soil down to create fertile plains.

[TahlilGaran] English Thesaurus ▲

simple
ˈsɪmpl
See: pure and simple

[TahlilGaran] English Idioms Dictionary ▲