Word.ws English Dictionary

simple

Syllables: sim·ple/ˈsɪm.pəl/

More pronunciations (1)Fewer pronunciations

New Zealand/ˈsəm.pəl/

simple adjective: uncomplicated; lacking complexity; taken by itself, with nothing added.

Adjective

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

  1. Uncomplicated; lacking complexity; taken by itself, with nothing added.
    • 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?1910, Emerson Hough, chapter I, in The Purchase Price: Or The Cause of Compromise, Indianapolis, Ind.: The Bobbs-Merrill Company, →OCLC
    • 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.1940, Rosetta E. Clarkson, Green Enchantments: The Magic Spell of Gardens, The Macmillan Company, page 253
    Antonyms:
    subtle
  2. Easy; not difficult.
    • There is no simple way to define precisely a complex arrangement of parts, however homely the object may appear to be.2001, Sydney I. Landau, Dictionaries: The Art and Craft of Lexicography, Cambridge University Press, →ISBN, page 167
    • 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.2021, Luis Atencio, The Joy of JavaScript, Simon and Schuster, →ISBN, page 104
  3. Without ornamentation; plain.
  4. Free from duplicity; guileless, innocent, straightforward.
    • Full many fine men go upon my score, as simple as I stand here, and I trust them.1605, Iohn Marston [i.e., John Marston], The Dutch Courtezan. […], London: […] T[homas] P[urfoot] for Iohn Hodgets, […], →OCLC, (please specify the page)
    • Must thou trust Tradition's simple tongue?1812, Lord Byron, “Canto I”, in Childe Harold’s Pilgrimage. A Romaunt, London: […] [F]or John Murray, […]; William Blackwood, Edinburgh; and John Cumming, Dublin; by Thomas Davison, […], →OCLC...
  5. Undistinguished in social condition; of no special rank.
    • 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!1995 April 24, Improbable Cause (Star Trek: Deep Space Nine), season 3, number 20 (Science Fiction), Paramount Domestic Television, →OCLC
  6. (archaic) Trivial; insignificant.
    • ‘That was a symple cause,’ seyde Sir Trystram, ‘for to sle a good knyght for seyynge well by his maystir.’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]...
  7. (colloquial, euphemistic) Feeble-minded; foolish.
  8. Consisting of one single substance; uncompounded.
  9. (broadly) Being non-trivial, and having no proper non-trivial normal subgroups (equivalently, no proper non-trivial quotient groups).
  10. (broadly, module theory) Being non-trivial, and having no proper non-trivial submodules (equivalently, no proper non-trivial quotient modules).
  11. (broadly, ring theory) 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.
  12. (broadly, universal) Containing more than one element, and such that the only congruences on the structure are the diagonal relation (the equivalence relation a≡b⟺a=b) and the universal relation (the equivalence relation such that a≡b for all a,b). Equivalently, containing more than one element and having no proper non-trivial quotient algebras.
Show 8 more meaningsShow fewer meanings
  1. (broadly) Being non-isomorphic to the terminal object, and such that its only quotient objects (up to isomorphism) are the terminal object and itself.
  2. 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.)
  3. (real analysis) Equal to a finite linear combination of indicator functions on measurable sets.
  4. Not compound, but possibly lobed.
  5. 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.
    • Chesapeake & Ohio turned to simple articulateds, for instance, simply because its Alleghany tunnels would not accommodate the low-pressure forward cylinders of larger compounds.1959, David P. Morgan, editor, Steam's Finest Hour, Kalmbach Publishing Co., page 6
  6. Consisting of a single individual or zooid; not compound.
    • a simple ascidian
  7. Homogenous.
  8. (obsolete) Mere; not other than; being only.
    • A medicine […] whose simple touch / Is powerful to araise King Pepin.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]...
    • "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!"1859, Ned Buntline, chapter XCIV, in Seawaif; Or, The Terror of the Coast, New York: Frederic A. Brady, page 117
    Synonyms:
    alone, mere, only, very, bare, just

Noun

simple (plural simples)

  1. A herbal preparation made from one plant, as opposed to something made from more than one plant.
    • Dere is some simples in my closet, dat I vill not for the varld I shall leave behind.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]
    • I know there are some simples, which in operation are moistening and some drying.1603, Michel de Montaigne, chapter 37, in John Florio, transl., The Essayes […], book II, London: […] Val[entine] Simmes for Edward Blount […], →OCLC
  2. (broadly, obsolete) A physician.
  3. A simple or atomic proposition.
    • 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.2021 September 14, Michael David Stevens, 10:41 from the start, in Do Chairs Exist?
  4. (obsolete) Something not mixed or compounded.
    • But it is a melancholy of mine own, compounded of many simples, extracted from many objects, and indeed the sundry contemplation of my travelsc. 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...
  5. A drawloom.
  6. Part of the apparatus for raising the heddles of a drawloom.
  7. 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. (archaic, intransitive, transitive) To gather simples, i.e. medicinal herbs.

simple meaning in Hindi, Tamil, Marathi and Urdu

simple in Hindi

uncomplicated
सरल saral, आसान āsān

simple in Tamil

uncomplicated
எளிய eḷiya, எளிது eḷitu, எளிமையான eḷimaiyāṉa

simple in Marathi

uncomplicated
सरळ saraḷ
simple-minded
भोळा bhoḷā

simple in Urdu

uncomplicated
آسان āsān
More languagesFewer languages
simple in Bengali
সহজ śohoj
simple in Telugu
సరళమైన saraḷamaina
simple in Malayalam
ലളിത laḷita
simple in Kannada
ಸುಳುವಾದ, ತೊಡಕಿಲ್ಲದ, ಪದಪಿಲ್ಲದ, ಯಾವಾಗಿನ
simple in Punjabi
سادہ sādh, ਸਾਦਾ sādā
simple in Gujarati
સાદું sādũ
simple in Odia
ସରଳ saraḷa
simple in Sanskrit
केवल kévala, बाल bāla, शुद्ध śuddhá
simple in Assamese
সৰল xorol, সহজ xohoz
simple in Nepali
साधा sādhā, सरल saral, साधारण sādhāraṇ, सीधा sīdhā
simple in Pashto
ساده sādá
simple in Tagalog
simple, payak, yano, liso
simple in Arabic
بَسِيط basīṭ, سَهْل sahl, سَهَل sahal, أَبْلَه ʔablah
simple in Malay
mudah
simple in Indonesian
sederhana, mudah
simple in Persian
ساده sâde
simple in Thai
ง่าย ngâai
simple in Vietnamese
giản dị, mộc mạc, đơn giản, giản đơn
simple in Myanmar
ရိုး rui:

Examples of simple in a sentence

  • 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).2006, M. Eto et al., “Solitons in Supersymmetric Gauge Theories”, in Particles, Strings and Cosmology, →ISBN, page 266:
  • On Wednesday night, I opted for sheveed polo, a simpler and quicker dill rice, but I can’t wait to nail that crunchy tahdig tonight.2026 March 15, Genevieve Ko, “‘This Is the Best Dish I Have Ever Made From NYT Cooking’”, in The New York Times, →ISSN, archived from the...
  • Nothing is more simple than greatness; indeed, to be simple is to be great.1838 July 24, Ralph Waldo Emerson, “Literary Ethics. An Oration Delivered before the Literary Societies of Dartmouth College, July 24...
  • [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.a. 1700 (date written), William Temple, “Of Health and Long-life”, in Miscellanea. The Third Part. […], London: […] Jonathan Swift, […]...

All 40 example sentences with simple

Synonyms of simple

30 more synonymsFewer synonyms

Antonyms

10 more antonymsFewer antonyms

All synonyms and antonyms of simple

Forms of simple

Adjective
comparativesimpler
comparativemore simple
superlativesimplest
superlativemost simple
Noun
pluralsimples
Verb
third-person singular presentsimples
present participlesimpling
past participlesimpled
pastsimpled

Origin of simple

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

Words formed from simple

Phrases with simple

47 more phrasesFewer phrases

Words that rhyme with simple

Questions about simple

What does simple mean?
Simple means uncomplicated; lacking complexity; taken by itself, with nothing added.
What is simple in Hindi?
Simple in Hindi is सरल (saral), आसान (āsān). See Simple meaning in Hindi.
How do you use simple in a sentence?
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).
What part of speech is simple?
Simple can be an adjective, a noun or a verb.
How do you pronounce simple?
Simple is pronounced /ˈsɪm.pəl/ (UK).

Words near simple in the dictionary

  1. simpish
  2. simpkin
  3. Simpkins
  4. Simpkins Creek
  5. Simpkinses
  6. simple
  7. simple algebra
  8. simple algebras
  9. simple as
  10. simple as a pimple
  11. simple as kiss your hand

Source and license

Adapted from Wiktionary: simple (page history and authors); simple (Kannada Wiktionary) (page history and authors); केवल (Sanskrit) (page history and authors); ساده (Pashto) (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.

Last updated:

Pronunciation audio from Wikimedia Commons, each file under its own free license: En-uk-simple.ogg, En-us-simple.ogg.

Cite this entry: “simple.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/simple. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.