facile

Reading level: hard

Estimated CEFR level: C2 — Proficiency

Estimated from word frequency; not an official CEFR classification.

Definition

  1. adjective arrived at without due care or effort; lacking depth
  2. adjective performing adroitly and without effort
  3. adjective expressing yourself readily, clearly, effectively

Etymology

Borrowed from Middle French facile, from Latin facilis (“easy to do, easy, doable”), from Latin facere (“to do, make”), from Proto-Indo-European *dʰeh₁- (“to do, put”) Compare Spanish and Portuguese fácil (“easy”), Catalan fàcil, Romanian facil. First use appears c. 1484 in a translation by William Caxton.

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