1
as in superficial
having or showing a lack of depth of understanding or character
the movie takes a facile look at what happens when teens enter into serious romantic relationships
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in easy
involving minimal difficulty or effort
a few early facile victories misled the country into thinking that the war would be short and relatively painless
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Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of facile
Demonizing the delta smelt was — and is — a way to make facile points to uninformed voters by suggesting that the interests of what appears to be an unimportant fish are somehow elevated above those of human residents.
—
Michael Hiltzik, Los Angeles Times, 14 Jan. 2025
Coppola’s emphasis on white protagonist Cesar is, in Hollywood liberal terms, facile and archaic.
—Armond White, National Review, 4 Oct. 2024
The benefit of all of this, of course, is a shift toward recognizing, at least in the zeitgeist, the seemingly facile truth: that moms have identities and desires beyond being moms.
—Cady Lang, TIME, 24 May 2024
The commentary on social media is mostly facile, although a humiliating trick played on Nikki is devilishly funny and some of the flashback-recap sequences make zippy use of online video.
—David Rooney, The Hollywood Reporter, 25 Jan. 2024
See All Example Sentences for facile
Michael Hiltzik, Los Angeles Times, 14 Jan. 2025
Coppola’s emphasis on white protagonist Cesar is, in Hollywood liberal terms, facile and archaic.
—Armond White, National Review, 4 Oct. 2024
The benefit of all of this, of course, is a shift toward recognizing, at least in the zeitgeist, the seemingly facile truth: that moms have identities and desires beyond being moms.
—Cady Lang, TIME, 24 May 2024
The commentary on social media is mostly facile, although a humiliating trick played on Nikki is devilishly funny and some of the flashback-recap sequences make zippy use of online video.
—David Rooney, The Hollywood Reporter, 25 Jan. 2024
See All Example Sentences for facile
Recent Examples of Synonyms for facile
Adjective
-
In both cases, the criticism is not completely superficial.—
Ellen Cushing,
The Atlantic,
14 Apr. 2025
-
The two who were shot suffered what police called superficial wounds and were hospitalized for their injuries.—
Mike Nolan,
Chicago Tribune,
11 Apr. 2025
Adjective
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The four categories are all color-coded to show their difficulty, with yellow being the easiest then green, blue and purple.—
Thomas G. Moukawsher,
MSNBC Newsweek,
27 Apr. 2025
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Although small businesses are the easiest to target, this issue also affects the marketing industry as a whole.—
Matthew Kayser,
USA Today,
27 Apr. 2025
Adjective
-
In another shallow dish whisk together egg and 2 Tbsp.—
Erin Hooker,
Better Homes & Gardens,
23 Apr. 2025
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As the protagonist/antihero, audiences meet everyone through his eyes (and imperious narration) — and in his view, most people are shallow and irritating, especially the residents of Madre Linda.—
Proma Khosla,
IndieWire,
23 Apr. 2025
Adjective
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Asked who’d buy these gold cards during an Oval Office meeting with reporters in February, Trump had a simple answer.—
Meehika Barua,
HubSpot,
18 Apr. 2025
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Will people be more open and accept that a simple, inexpensive date isn’t the sign of low effort but rather a reflection of the economy none of us asked for?—
Myisha Battle,
Time,
18 Apr. 2025
Adjective
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Antioxidant-rich extracts from green tea and ginseng nourish, while lactic acid works in tandem to offer gentle exfoliation for a smoother texture.—
Conçetta Ciarlo,
Vogue,
28 Apr. 2025
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Booker’s smooth look also included cream pants with brown Gucci loafers.—
Robyn Mowatt,
Essence,
25 Apr. 2025
Adjective
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China leads the global production of cheap goods made in large volume, such as dishes and cooking gadgets.—
Pablo Robles,
New York Times,
27 Apr. 2025
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Some cheaper tags don’t have a replaceable battery although some have rechargeable cells.—
Mark Sparrow,
Forbes.com,
27 Apr. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Facile.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/facile. Accessed 1 May. 2025.
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