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A.Word.A.Day--facile

Pronunciation RealAudio

facile (FAS-il, -yl) adjective

Easy; simple; superficial; fluent.

[From Middle French, from Latin facilis, from facere (to do). Ultimately from Indo-European root dhe (to set or put) which is also the source of do, deed, factory, fashion, face, rectify, defeat, sacrifice, satisfy, and many other words.]

See more usage examples of facile in Vocabulary.com's dictionary.

"But he (Cole Porter) was always a little too facile for the critics, a little too elegant for the masses." Stephen Whitty; Composer's Biopic Rates a Lump of Cole; Star-Ledger (Newark, New Jersey); Jul 2, 2004.

"(Thomas) Keneally is a facile writer, a solid, nuts-and-bolts professional. His prose is always supple, and he can turn a phrase." Patrick Kurp; Read the Book or Wait For Movie?; Houston Chronicle (Texas); Jun 18, 2004.

This week's theme: words to describe people.

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