simply

UK/ˈsɪmpli/

More pronunciations (2)Fewer pronunciations

New Zealand/ˈsəmpli/

simply adverb: in a simple way or state; considered in or by itself; without addition; alone.

Adverb

simply (comparative more simply, superlative most simply)

In a simple way or state; considered in or by itself; without addition; alone.

Antonyms:

complexly
Plainly; without art or subtlety
- ‘No,’ said Stephen simply.1930, Margaret Ayer Barnes, Years of Grace, Part II, Chapter IV, page 198
Synonyms:

clearly, obviously, unquestionably
Foolishly; stupidly.
- Mrs. Thorold had told her sons that a young lady was visiting at the house, whose history she had given them in short hand, describing her as a dependent on the late Mrs. Willoughby, whom her son had very simply intended to marry at Alvestone […].1791, Charlotte Smith, Celestina, Broadview, published 2004, page 179
(focus) Merely; solely.
- I was simply asking a question.
- A “moving platform” scheme[…]is more technologically ambitious than maglev trains even though it relies on conventional rails.[…]This set-up solves several problems […]. Stopping high-speed trains wastes energy and time, so why not simply slow them down enough for a moving platform to pull...2013 June 1, “Ideas coming down the track”, in The Economist, volume 407, number 8838, page 13 (Technology Quarterly)
Synonyms:

just, barely, but, literally, merely, no more than, nothing but, only
(degree) absolutely, positively.
- That was a simply wonderful dessert.
- This type of comportment simply won't be tolerated.
Synonyms:

very, above a bit, absolutely, sorely, widely, horribly, horrendously, bone, abundantly, all too
Frankly.
- Simply, he just fired you.
- It was, quite simply, the best there was in stock.
Synonyms:

honestly, above a bit, actually, all things considered, as a matter of fact, by right, certainly, come to think of it, de facto, definitely

simply meaning in Hindi, Tamil, Marathi and Urdu

simply in Hindi

simply: यों ही yõ hī, यूँ ही yū̃ hī

simply in Tamil

in a simple manner: சும்மா cummā, வெறுமனே veṟumaṉē
merely, solely: சும்மா cummā

simply in Marathi

simply, casually: सहज sahaj̈

simply in Urdu

simply: یوں ہی yõ hī

More languagesFewer languages

simply in Bengali: শুধু śudhu, শুদ্ধ śuddho
simply in Telugu: సరళముగా saraḷamugā
simply in Malayalam: ലളിതമായി laḷitamāyi
simply in Kannada: ಸಲೀಸಾಗಿ, ಸುಳುವಾಗಿ, ತೊಡಕಿಲ್ಲದೇ, ಪದಪಿಲ್ಲದೇ
simply in Arabic: بِكُلّ بَسَاطَة bikull basāṭa

Examples of simply in a sentence

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:
What about the way you love me? / And the way you squeeze me? / Simply beautiful1972, Al Green, “Simply Beautiful”:

All 40 example sentences with simply

Synonyms of simply

30 more synonymsFewer synonyms

Antonyms

complexly

All synonyms and antonyms of simply

Forms of simply

comparative	more simply
superlative	most simply

Origin of simply

From Middle English symply, symplely; equivalent to simple + -ly, with *-lely simplified to -ly by haplology.

Words formed from simply

Questions about simply

What does simply mean?: Simply means in a simple way or state; considered in or by itself; without addition; alone.
What is simply in Hindi?: Simply in Hindi is यों ही (yõ hī), यूँ ही (yū̃ hī). See Simply meaning in Hindi.
How do you use simply in a sentence?: Stopping high-speed trains wastes energy and time, so why not simply slow them down enough for a moving platform to pull alongside?
What part of speech is simply?: Simply is an adverb.
How do you pronounce simply?: Simply is pronounced /ˈsɪmpli/ (UK).

Words near simply in the dictionary

Adapted from Wiktionary: simply (page history and authors); यूँ ही (Hindi) (page history and authors); सहज (Marathi) (page history and authors); یوں ہی (Urdu) (page history and authors); শুদ্ধ (Bengali) (page history and authors); సరళముగా (Telugu) (page history and authors); simply (Kannada Wiktionary) (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: 2026-09-02

Pronunciation audio from Wikimedia Commons, each file under its own free license: en-us-simply.ogg, LL-Q1860 (eng)-Wodencafe-simply.wav.

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