Word.ws English Dictionary

How to use simply in a sentence

40 example sentences · adverb

Simply means in a simple way or state; considered in or by itself; without addition; alone. Example: “I was simply asking a question.”

Examples of simply by meaning

adverbPlainly; without art or subtlety.

  • ‘No,’ said Stephen simply.1930, Margaret Ayer Barnes, Years of Grace, Part II, Chapter IV, page 198

adverbMerely; solely.

  • I was simply asking a question.
  • Stopping high-speed trains wastes energy and time, so why not simply slow them down enough for a moving platform to pull alongside?2013 June 1, “Ideas coming down the track”, in The Economist, volume 407, number 8838, page 13 (Technology Quarterly)
  • Rather than scanning a boarding pass or handing over a passport, you simply stare into a camera and you’re verified.2019 May 21, Dylan Curran, “Facial recognition will soon be everywhere. Are we prepared?”, in The Guardian

adverbAbsolutely, positively.

  • That was a simply wonderful dessert.
  • This type of comportment simply won't be tolerated.

adverbFrankly.

  • Simply, he just fired you.
  • It was, quite simply, the best there was in stock.

More sentences with simply

  • It simply will not do to have dozens of children running around such a quiet event.From the entry do
  • Note the difference between progesterone and progrestogen: the former is simply a type of the latter.From the entry note
  • This new home is simply a carbon copy of the one down the street.From the entry carbon copy
  • It didn't take long to eat a packetful of snowballs — they are simply delicious.From the entry snowball
  • I was simply making the prosaic point that we are running late.From the entry prosaic
  • He hounded me for weeks, but I was simply unable to pay back his loan.From the entry hound
  • I can't simply stand by and watch you ruin your life.From the entry stand by
  • The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives officers are just simply referred to as "ATF agents".From the entry agent
  • After so much stress, he suffered a breakdown and simply gave up.From the entry breakdown
  • I do not know if it is true; I am simply conjecturing here.From the entry conjecture
  • "I had a simply fantastic vacation, and I can't wait to tell you all about it!"From the entry fantastic
  • This is way over my head. Can you explain it more simply?From the entry over one's head
  • I really can't understand how something like this could simply pop up out of the blue.From the entry out of the blue
  • He would be well off if he would simply quit this place and never look back.From the entry well off
  • You cannot simply wait for a problem like that to blow over.From the entry blow over
  • They didn't provide an API, so I simply scraped their website.From the entry scrape
  • She installed the whole fixture while he simply watched from the sidelines.From the entry sideline
  • This 5-star hotel in Singapore is simply superb and provides excellent customer service.From the entry 5-star
  • She was simply regifting to me the same present I gave her last year.From the entry regifting
  • The Old Hall simply drips with masterpieces of the Flemish painters.From the entry drip
  • I'm in the mood for love, simply because you're near me.From the entry in the mood
  • She was simply asked to express how she felt, but her response was periphrastic.From the entry periphrastic
  • Some people donate what they can, while others simply turn away.From the entry turn away
  • The piano was not simply out of tune, but had become downright tinny.From the entry tinny
  • The fundamental reason why the company failed is that the CEO and other top managers simply mismanaged.From the entry mismanage
  • His dislike of the residents of the wealthier neighbourhood was simply inverted snobbery.From the entry inverted snobbery
  • The reloading of the frameset is obviously less attractive than simply changing the location of one frame.From the entry frameset
  • Simply mentioning the word "nationalism" to him is like a red rag to a bull.From the entry red rag to a bull
  • More people were simply scored off the list of unemployed than found employment through employment bureaux.From the entry score off
  • The new normal for this country is simply to survive economically.From the entry new normal
  • To put it simply, we can't afford it.From the entry put
  • "to swing one's partner", or simply "to swing"From the entry swing

Meaning of simply

  1. adverb In a simple way or state; considered in or by itself; without addition; alone.
  2. adverb Plainly; without art or subtlety.
  3. adverb Foolishly; stupidly.

Full definition of simply

Questions about simply in a sentence

How do you use simply in a sentence?
Simply is used as an adverb. For example: “I was simply asking a question.”
What is a short sentence with simply?
“‘No,’ said Stephen simply.”
What does simply mean?
Simply means in a simple way or state; considered in or by itself; without addition; alone.

Source and license

Adapted from Wiktionary: simply (page history and authors) and the entries each sentence comes from. Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws chose the sentences, left out offensive ones and quotations older than 1900, and marked the word in each. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.

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Cite this page: “How to use simply in a sentence.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/sentences/simply. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.