ˈfasəl also -(ˌ)sil, chiefly Brit -ˌsīl adjective
Etymology: Middle French, from Latin facilis, from facere to make, do + -ilis -ile — more at do
1.
a. : easily accomplished or attained : involving no special difficulty or expenditure of skill or effort : easy
a facile victory
sometimes : specious , superficial
the work is well-organized but the conclusions and interpretations are often unduly facile
I am not concerned … with offering any facile solution for so complex a problem — T.S.Eliot
b. : used or comprehended with ease
the techniques of paper chromatography have provided facile means of separating complex organic mixtures
the report proved to be surprisingly facile reading
c. of feelings, emotions, attitudes : readily experienced or manifest and often lacking sincerity, depth, or real basis
sick of words and phrases and facile emotions and situations and insincerities — Rose Macaulay
we must possess a peculiarly facile turn of mind when we can virtuously condemn the cruelties perpetrated in other countries, while … we avert our eyes from the cruelties we ourselves continue to condone — Farley Mowat
2.
a. archaic : easily led or prevailed upon : compliant , docile , yielding
b. Scots law : so easily influenced as to require curatorship or guardianship — used of the mentally weak; compare facility 3b
3. : mild or pleasing in manner or disposition:
a. archaic : lenient and gentle : not stern, severe, or harsh
b. obsolete : kind and affable
c. : exhibiting ease of bearing or manner : assured , poised
4. : free and unrestrained in performing or expressing : ready , resourceful , quick , fluent , expert : not hesitant, barren, slow, or awkward
a man facile in expedients
the most facile and prolific of humorists — Alfred Kreymborg
Synonyms: see easy