simple

Etymology

Inherited from Middle English symple, simple, from Old French and French simple, from Latin simplex (“simple”, literally “onefold”) (as opposed to duplex (“double”, literally “twofold”)), from semel (“the same”) + plicō (“I fold”). See same and fold. Compare single, singular, simultaneous, etc.

Partially displaced native English onefold.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈsɪmpəl/, [ˈsɪmpl̩]

• Audio (Received Pronunciation):

  (file)

• Audio (General American):

  (file)

• Rhymes: -ɪmpəl
• Hyphenation: sim‧ple

Adjective

simple (comparative simpler or more simple, superlative simplest or most simple)

1. Uncomplicated; lacking complexity; taken by itself, with nothing added.

   Synonyms: onefold; see also Thesaurus:bare-bones

   Antonym: subtle

   • 1910, Emerson Hough, chapter I, in The Purchase Price: Or The Cause of Compromise, Indianapolis, Ind.: The Bobbs-Merrill Company, →OCLC:

     We are engaged in a great work, a treatise on our river fortifications, perhaps? But since when did army officers afford the luxury of amanuenses in this simple republic?

   • 1940, Rosetta E. Clarkson, Green Enchantments: The Magic Spell of Gardens, The Macmillan Company, page 253:

     Primitive people, colossally ignorant of the cause of disease and of curative processes, attributed to supernatural agencies any causes and effects for which their simple minds could give no natural explanations.

   • 2006, M. Eto et al., “Solitons in Supersymmetric Gauge Theories”, in Particles, Strings and Cosmology‎, →ISBN, page 266:

     The simplest soliton is the domain wall with co-dimension one, and the next simplest is the vortex with co-dimension two, whereas the co-dimension three (four) soliton is called monopole (instanton).

2. Easy; not difficult.

   Synonyms: basic, trivial; see also Thesaurus:easy

   Antonyms: challenging, hard; see also Thesaurus:difficult

   • 2001, Sydney I. Landau, Dictionaries: The Art and Craft of Lexicography, Cambridge University Press, →ISBN, page 167:

     There is no simple way to define precisely a complex arrangement of parts, however homely the object may appear to be.

   • 2021, Luis Atencio, The Joy of JavaScript, Simon and Schuster, →ISBN, page 104:

     Point-free coding is a byproduct of adopting declarative programming. You can use point-free coding without FP. But because point-free is all about improving the readability of code at a glance and making it simpler to parse, having the guarantees imposed by FP furthers this cause.

3. Without ornamentation; plain.

   Synonyms: austere, plain; see also Thesaurus:unadorned

   Antonyms: flashy, tinselly; see also Thesaurus:gaudy

4. Free from duplicity; guileless, innocent, straightforward.

   Synonyms: sincere, unaffected; see also Thesaurus:honest, Thesaurus:naive

   Antonyms: crafty, guileful; see also Thesaurus:wily

   • 1605, Iohn Marston [i.e., John Marston], The Dutch Courtezan. […], London: […] T[homas] P[urfoot] for Iohn Hodgets, […], →OCLC, (please specify the page):

     Full many fine men go upon my score, as simple as I stand here, and I trust them.

   • 1812, Lord Byron, “Canto I”, in Childe Harold’s Pilgrimage. A Romaunt, London: Printed for John Murray, […]; William Blackwood, Edinburgh; and John Cumming, Dublin; by Thomas Davison, […], →OCLC, stanza XXXVI:

     Must thou trust Tradition's simple tongue?

   • 1838 July 24, Ralph Waldo Emerson, “Literary Ethics. An Oration Delivered before the Literary Societies of Dartmouth College, July 24, 1838”, in J[ames] E[lliot] Cabot, editor, Nature, Addresses, and Lectures (Emerson’s Complete Works; I), Riverside edition, London: The Waverley Book Company, published 1883, →OCLC, page 160:

     Nothing is more simple than greatness; indeed, to be simple is to be great. The vision of genius comes by renouncing the too officious activity of the understanding, and giving leave and amplest privilege to the spontaneous sentiment.

5. Undistinguished in social condition; of no special rank.

   Synonyms: common, low-born, ordinary, vulgar

   Antonyms: eminent, gentle, notable, highborn, well-born

   • 1995 April 24, Improbable Cause (Star Trek: Deep Space Nine), season 3, number 20 (Science Fiction), Paramount Domestic Television, →OCLC:

     Garak: Who would want to kill me, a simple tailor? / Odo: A simple tailor? A simple tailor who used to be an agent of the Obsidian Order!

6. (archaic) Trivial; insignificant.

   Synonyms: inconsequential; see also Thesaurus:insignificant

   Antonyms: significant; see also Thesaurus:important

   • 1470–1485 (date produced), Thomas Malory, “Capitulum LV”, in [Le Morte Darthur], book X (in Middle English), [London: […] by William Caxton], published 31 July 1485, →OCLC; republished as H[einrich] Oskar Sommer, editor, Le Morte Darthur […], London: David Nutt, […], 1889, →OCLC:

     ‘That was a symple cause,’ seyde Sir Trystram, ‘for to sle a good knyght for seyynge well by his maystir.’

     ‘That was a simple cause,’ said Sir Tristram, ‘for to slay a good knight for to say well by his master.’

7. (now colloquial, euphemistic) Feeble-minded; foolish.

   Synonyms: dim-witted, unwise; see also Thesaurus:foolish, Thesaurus:stupid

   Antonyms: astute, quick-witted; see also Thesaurus:wise

8. (heading, technical) Structurally uncomplicated.

   Synonyms: basic, plain, uncomplex, uncomplicated

   Antonyms: complex, compound, complicated

   1. (chemistry, pharmacology) Consisting of one single substance; uncompounded.
   2. (algebra, loosely, of an algebraic structure) Being non-trivial, and admitting no proper non-trivial quotients.
      1. (group theory, of a group) Being non-trivial, and having no proper non-trivial normal subgroups (equivalently, no proper non-trivial quotient groups).
      2. (module theory, of a module) Being non-trivial, and having no proper non-trivial submodules (equivalently, no proper non-trivial quotient modules).
      3. (ring theory, of a ring) Being non-zero, and having no proper non-zero two-sided ideals (equivalently, no proper non-trivial quotient rings). For commutative rings, this definition coincides with that of a field.
      4. (universal algebra, of an algebraic structure) Containing more than one element, and such that the only congruences on the structure are the diagonal relation (the equivalence relation ${\displaystyle a\equiv b\iff a=b}$) and the universal relation (the equivalence relation such that ${\displaystyle a\equiv b}$ for all ${\displaystyle a,b}$). Equivalently, containing more than one element and having no proper non-trivial quotient algebras.
      5. (category theory, of an object in a category with a terminal object) Being non-isomorphic to the terminal object, and such that its only quotient objects (up to isomorphism) are the terminal object and itself.
   3. (algebra, of a Lie algebra) Being non-abelian and having no proper non-zero ideals. (Note that this is non-equivalent to the usual algebra sense; in particular, the abelian Lie algebra of dimension 1 over any given field is non-trivial and has no proper non-zero ideals, but is by convention not considered simple.)
   4. (mathematics, real analysis, measure theory, of a real-valued function) Equal to a finite linear combination of indicator functions on measurable sets.
   5. (botany) Not compound, but possibly lobed.
   6. Using steam only once in its cylinders, in contrast to a compound engine, where steam is used more than once in high-pressure and low-pressure cylinders. (of a steam engine)
      • 1959, David P. Morgan, editor, Steam's Finest Hour, Kalmbach Publishing Co., page 6:

        Chesapeake & Ohio turned to simple articulateds, for instance, simply because its Alleghany tunnels would not accommodate the low-pressure forward cylinders of larger compounds.

   7. (zoology) Consisting of a single individual or zooid; not compound.

      a simple ascidian

   8. (mineralogy) Homogenous.
9. (obsolete) Mere; not other than; being only.

   Synonyms: alone, mere, only, very

   • c. 1604–1605 (date written), William Shakespeare, “All’s Well, that Ends Well”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act II, scene i]:

     A medicine […] whose simple touch / Is powerful to araise King Pepin.

   • 1859, Ned Buntline, chapter XCIV, in Seawaif; Or, The Terror of the Coast, New York: Frederic A. Brady, page 117:

     "Yes; as well versed in the art of intrigue, I should think, as if she had been brought up in attendance in a court, instead of being a simple butler's daughter, in a gloomy old pile like this!"

Noun

simple (plural simples)

1. (pharmacology) A herbal preparation made from one plant, as opposed to something made from more than one plant.
   • c. 1597 (date written), William Shakespeare,  […] [T]he Merrie Wiues of Windsor. […] (First Quarto), London: […] T[homas] C[reede] for Arthur Ihonson, […], published 1602, →OCLC, [Act I, scene iv]:

     Dere is some simples in my closet, dat I vill not for the varld I shall leave behind.

   • 1603, Michel de Montaigne, chapter 37, in John Florio, transl., The Essayes […], book II, London: […] Val[entine] Simmes for Edward Blount […], →OCLC:

     I know there are some simples, which in operation are moistening and some drying.

   • a. 1700 (date written), William Temple, “Of Health and Long-life”, in Miscellanea. The Third Part. […], London: […] Jonathan Swift, […] Benjamin Tooke, […], published 1701, →OCLC, pages 183–184:

     [W]hat Virtue there is in this Remedy lies in the naked Simple it ſelf, as it comes over from the Indies, and in the Choice of that which is leaſt dried, or periſhed by the Voyage.

   • 1922 February, James Joyce, Ulysses, Paris: Shakespeare and Company, […], →OCLC:

     The first fellow that picked an herb to cure himself had a bit of pluck. Simples. Want to be careful.

   • 2003, Dolores Stewart Riccio, Charmed Circle, Kensington Books, →ISBN, page 12:

     The venerable carryall, formerly brimming with all manner of esoteric pamphlets and witch's simples, now overflowed with a cascade of soft toys, juice bottles, tissues, linen books for infants, […]

2. (obsolete, by extension) A physician.
3. (logic) A simple or atomic proposition.
   • 2021 September 14, Michael David Stevens, 10:41 from the start, in Do Chairs Exist?‎:

     Peter van Inwagen, for example, believes that there are no ordinary objects, no chairs or shirts or shoes. Right here there are just some simples — atoms or whatever — arranged shoe-wise.

4. (obsolete) Something not mixed or compounded.
   • c. 1598–1600 (date written), William Shakespeare, “As You Like It”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act IV, scene i]:

     But it is a melancholy of mine own, compounded of many simples, extracted from many objects, and indeed the sundry contemplation of my travels

5. (weaving) A drawloom.
6. (weaving) Part of the apparatus for raising the heddles of a drawloom.
7. (Roman Catholicism) A feast which is not a double or a semidouble.

Verb

simple (third-person singular simple present simples, present participle simpling, simple past and past participle simpled)

1. (transitive, intransitive, archaic) To gather simples, i.e. medicinal herbs.

Anagrams

• LEMSIP, impels

Etymology

Borrowed from Latin simplex.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈsimple/ [ˈsĩm.ple]
• Hyphenation: sim‧ple

Adjective

simple (epicene, plural simples)

1. simple (uncomplicated)

   Synonym: cenciellu

Etymology

Borrowed from Spanish simple.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈsimple/ [ˈsim.pl̪e]
• Hyphenation: sim‧ple

Adjective

símple (intensified simplehon, Basahan spelling ᜐᜒᜋ᜔ᜉ᜔ᜎᜒ)

1. simple, plain
2. unadorned
3. easy

   Synonyms: madali, pasil

Etymology

Borrowed from Latin simplex.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): (Central, Balearic) [ˈsim.plə]
• IPA^(key): (Valencia) [ˈsim.ple]

• Audio:

  (file)

Adjective

simple m or f (masculine and feminine plural simples)

1. simple (uncomplicated)

   Synonym: senzill

2. single (not divided into parts)

Further reading

• “simple” in Diccionari de la llengua catalana, segona edició, Institut d’Estudis Catalans.
• “simple” in Diccionari català-valencià-balear, Antoni Maria Alcover and Francesc de Borja Moll, 1962.
• “simple”, in Gran Diccionari de la Llengua Catalana, Grup Enciclopèdia Catalana, 2025

Etymology

Inherited from Spanish simple (“simple”).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈsimple/, [ˈsĩm.ple]
• Hyphenation: sim‧ple

Adjective

simple

1. simple

Etymology

From simpla +‎ -e.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): [ˈsimple]

• Audio:

  (file)

• Rhymes: -imple
• Hyphenation: sim‧ple

Adverb

simple

1. simply

Etymology

Inherited from Old French, borrowed from Latin simplex.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /sɛ̃pl/

• Audio:

  (file)

Adjective

simple (plural simples)

1. single

   comptabilité en partie simple ― single-entry bookkeeping

2. simple, straightforward, easy

   Antonyms: complexe, compliqué

   Near-synonym: facile

   simple comme bonjour ― easy as pie

3. simple, plain, unsophisticated

   un homme simple ― a simple man

4. (grammar) synthetic; non analytic

   Coordinate terms: composé, antérieur

   futur simple ― simple future

   passé simple ― past historic tense (literally, “simple past”)

5. (grammar)

   Coordinate term: complexe

   phrase simple ― simple sentence

6. (chemistry) simple, uncompounded

   Coordinate term: composé

   corps simple ― (please add an English translation of this usage example)

7. one-way

   un aller simple ― a one-way ticket

   un billet simple ― a one-way ticket

8. mere

   un simple soldat ― a mere soldier

Noun

simple m (plural simples)

1. This term needs a translation to English. Please help out and add a translation, then remove the text {{rfdef}}.

   passer du simple au double ― to double

   passer du simple au triple ― to triple

2. (baseball) single

Further reading

• “simple”, in Trésor de la langue française informatisé [Digitized Treasury of the French Language], 2012.

Anagrams

• emplis

Etymology

Learned borrowing from Latin simplex. Displaced Old Galician-Portuguese simplez.

Adjective

simple m or f (plural simples)

1. simple

Pronunciation

• Audio:

  (file)

Adjective

simple

1. inflection of simpel:
   1. strong/mixed nominative/accusative feminine singular
   2. strong nominative/accusative plural
   3. weak nominative all-gender singular
   4. weak accusative feminine/neuter singular

Adjective

simple

1. vocative masculine singular of simplus

Adjective

simple

1. Alternative form of symple

Noun

simple

1. Alternative form of symple

Adjective

simple

1. definite singular of simpel
2. plural of simpel

Adjective

simple

1. definite singular of simpel
2. plural of simpel

Alternative forms

• sinple

Etymology

Borrowed from Latin simplex.

Adjective

simple m (oblique and nominative feminine singular simple)

1. innocent
2. mere; simple
3. honest; without pretense
4. peasant, pauper (attributive)

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): [ˈsim.ple]

Adjective

simple

1. feminine/neuter plural nominative/accusative of simplu

Etymology

Borrowed from Latin simplex.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈsimple/ [ˈsĩm.ple]

• Audio (Colombia):

  (file)

• Rhymes: -imple
• Syllabification: sim‧ple

Adjective

simple m or f (masculine and feminine plural simples)

1. simple (uncomplicated)

   Synonym: sencillo

   Antonym: complejo

2. (before the noun) mere, ordinary

   Synonym: mero

   Soy un simple pescador. ― I'm just a fisherman.

3. simple, single (not divided into parts)

   Antonym: compuesto

4. simple-minded, stupid
5. insipid, flavorless

   Synonym: soso

6. (grammar) simple

Noun

simple m or f by sense (plural simples)

1. simpleton, fool

   Synonym: bobo

Noun

simple m (plural simples)

1. (pharmacology) simple

Further reading

• “simple”, in Diccionario de la lengua española [Dictionary of the Spanish Language] (in Spanish), online version 23.8, Royal Spanish Academy [Spanish: Real Academia Española], 2024 December 10

Adjective

simple

1. definite natural masculine singular of simpel

Anagrams

• simpel

Etymology

Borrowed from Spanish simple, from Latin simplex.

Pronunciation

• (Standard Tagalog) IPA^(key): /ˈsimple/ [ˈsim.plɛ]
• Rhymes: -imple
• Syllabification: sim‧ple

Adjective

simple (Baybayin spelling ᜐᜒᜋ᜔ᜉ᜔ᜎᜒ)

1. simple; easy to do

   Synonyms: payak, yano, liso

   • 1994, Al O. Santiago, Sining ng pagsasaling-wika: sa Filipino mula sa Ingles‎, →ISBN:

     Simpleng-simple rin ang aklat na ito kung ihahambing sa aklat ni Mildred Larson.

     This book is also very simple compared to the book of Mildred Larson.

   • 2002, Yaman Ng Pagkatao i Tm' 2002 Ed.‎, Rex Bookstore, Inc., →ISBN, page 173:

     Ang boluntaryong pagpili ng simpleng pamumuhay ay isang desisyong maaari nating maisakatuparan.

     The voluntary choice of a simple life is a decision that we can carry out.

2. common; ordinary

   Synonyms: karaniwan, pangkaraniwan

3. easy to understand
4. simple; plain

   Synonym: payak

5. (grammar) simple

   Synonym: payak

Further reading

• “simple”, in Pambansang Diksiyonaryo | Diksiyonaryo.ph, Manila, 2018