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GRE vocabulary

facile

adjectiveHigh-frequency wordMore F words

achieved too easily and therefore superficial or shallow

Word origin: From Latin facilis, easy to do, from facere, to do.

In a sentence

Facile in a sentence

Here are example sentences showing facile in a sentence.

The pundit offered a facile explanation that ignored the conflict's deep historical roots.

The book offers a facile explanation of the crisis that ignores its tangled economic causes.

Synonyms
simplisticglibshallow
Antonyms
profoundthoroughnuanced
Usage & nuance

Using “facile” well

Facile is usually pejorative, faulting an answer for being too easy and therefore shallow, not genuinely simple. Beware the false friend: it does not mean merely fluent or skillful.

Common questions

Questions about “facile

Facile (adjective) means achieved too easily and therefore superficial or shallow
Here is facile used in an example sentence: "The pundit offered a facile explanation that ignored the conflict's deep historical roots." Another example: "The book offers a facile explanation of the crisis that ignores its tangled economic causes."
Common synonyms for facile include simplistic, glib, shallow.
Antonyms of facile include profound, thorough, nuanced.
Clusters with simplistic, glib, and shallow in Sentence Equivalence. Its antonyms profound, thorough, and nuanced mark the contrast.
Yes. Facile is a high-frequency GRE word, so it is worth prioritising as you build your vocabulary.

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