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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 Listening to Susan Stamberg reminded us that often the best questions are short, simple, and open-minded. Scott Simon, NPR, 6 Sep. 2025 This simple memento is just one way the spirit of my alma mater stays alive. Katherine Polcari, Southern Living, 6 Sep. 2025 Released in 2023, this 34 mm reference is smaller and simpler than the majority of Royal Oaks on the market. Rachel Cormack, Robb Report, 6 Sep. 2025 Arranging the board is surprisingly simple. Sophia Beams, Better Homes & Gardens, 6 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
  • Outside of health care and social assistance, a sector in which job growth seems to be unaffected by over-all trends, the downturn in hiring extended across large parts of the economy, with fewer than half of all private-sector industries adding jobs last month.
    John Cassidy, New Yorker, 8 Sep. 2025
  • The 2026 visa cap has already been reached, meaning current sponsorships are unaffected.
    Robert Alexander, MSNBC Newsweek, 7 Sep. 2025
Adjective
  • Gerald Genta Minute Repeater A pure minute repeater – without other high watchmaking functions as part of a grand-complication package – is a rare thing.
    Carol Besler, Forbes.com, 8 Sep. 2025
  • Invisible pollutants unleashed To simulate real-world conditions, the researchers placed unused masks in beakers of ultra-pure water and left them at room temperature for 24 hours.
    Neetika Walter, Interesting Engineering, 8 Sep. 2025
Adjective
  • The bipartisan vote signals that the final passage will likely be easy to gain as the upper chamber looks to pass the defense bill this month.
    Rachel Schilke, The Washington Examiner, 10 Sep. 2025
  • Perhaps the easiest was an airplane flying overhead.
    Nola Taylor Tillman, Space.com, 10 Sep. 2025
Adjective
  • Their attempts at political discourse often veered toward the group speaking in vague, naïve universalisms.
    Emma Madden, Pitchfork, 4 Sep. 2025
  • At times on Saturday, Bremen were terribly naive, exhibiting all the fragility expected of a team built from inexperienced players.
    Sebastian Stafford-Bloor, New York Times, 2 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
  • 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
  • Sometimes, actors play a slightly dumber iteration of themselves; think James Van Der Beek in Don’t Trust the B in Apartment 23 and Liam Neeson in Life’s Too Short (a performance that got Neeson cast in this year’s The Naked Gun).
    Fran Hoepfner, Vulture, 5 Sep. 2025
Adjective
  • Similar complaints were made in the 1990s and 2000s building boom that led to a series of functional stadia springing up across the UK, usually complete with bare breeze block walls that gave a pre-match pint on the concourse all the appeal of an evening spent down the local multi-story car park.
    Richard Sutcliffe, New York Times, 6 Sep. 2025
  • The can opener mounted on the prep table had a dirty blade, an employee touched food with his bare hands and there was no thermometer for checking internal food temperature.
    Harriet Ramos, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 6 Sep. 2025

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Cite this Entry

“Simple.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/simple. Accessed 13 Sep. 2025.

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