facile
/'fæsail/
Học thuậtThân thiện
Definition
- Adjective:
- Performed or achieved with little effort; appearing easy: Describing something that is done or produced with apparent ease, often implying a lack of depth or thoroughness.
- Working, moving, or speaking with effortless skill; fluent: Describing a person or their abilities, especially in speech or performance, as smooth and adept but sometimes superficial.
- Arrived at without due care, effort, or examination; oversimplified: Describing an answer, solution, or argument that is too simple and ignores complexities.
Usage and Examples
- Describing an oversimplified solution or argument:
- The politician offered a facile explanation for the economic crisis.
- Such a complex problem requires more than a facile answer.
- Describing effortless skill, especially in speech:
- The debater was known for his facile tongue and quick wit.
- Her facile presentation of the material hid her lack of deep understanding.
- Describing something achieved with little apparent effort:
- His facile victory surprised his more experienced opponents.
- The novel's plot was entertaining but facile, lacking any real emotional depth.
Advanced Usage and Nuances
- Critical Connotation: While "facile" can describe skill, it is often used critically to suggest that something is too easy, simplistic, or superficial. It implies that depth, rigor, or genuine effort is missing.
- The critic dismissed the author's analysis as facile and unconvincing.
- In Linguistics/Communication: Used to describe language that is fluent and ready but may lack substance.
- He had a facile command of jargon, which impressed some but concerned experts.
Variants and Related Words
- Facilely (adverb): In a facile manner.
- He facilely dismissed all objections to his plan.
- Facileness (noun, rare): The quality of being facile.
Synonyms
- Superficial: Concerned only with the obvious or apparent.
- Glib: Fluent but insincere or shallow.
- Effortless: Requiring no apparent effort.
- Simplistic: Treating complex issues as if they were simple.
Antonyms
- Profound: Having deep insight or meaning.
- Arduous: Involving strenuous effort.
- Laborious: Requiring much work and effort.
- Sophisticated: Complex or intricate.
Idiomatic Usage
- A facile tongue/speech: The ability to speak fluently and persuasively, often with a hint of skepticism about the content.
- He could sell anything with his facile tongue.
- Facile assumption: An assumption made too readily without proper consideration.
- The project failed due to a series of facile assumptions about the market.
Adjective
- expressing yourself readily, clearly, effectively
- able to dazzle with his facile tongue
- silver speech
- performing adroitly and without effort
- a facile hand
- arrived at without due care or effort; lacking depth
- too facile a solution for so complex a problem