SIMPLE


Meaning of SIMPLE in English

adjective

COLLOCATIONS FROM OTHER ENTRIES

a primitive/simple creature (= one with only a few cells )

primitive creatures like bacteria

a simple calculation

A simple calculation will show that these figures are incorrect.

a simple ceremony

The gymnasium was opened in a simple ceremony on 26th May.

a simple concept

Cause and effect is a fairly simple concept.

a simple device

He invented a simple device for chopping onions.

a simple lifestyle (= in which you do not have too many possessions or modern machines )

He admired the simple lifestyle of the islanders.

a simple majority (= a majority that has been won by most of the votes )

A simple majority of the people at the meeting were in favour of the changes.

a simple meal

a simple meal of soup and bread

a simple melody

I like songs with a simple melody.

a simple misunderstanding (= one that is not serious and is easy to correct )

It was a simple misunderstanding: I thought the meeting was on Wednesday, not Thursday.

a simple notion

You cannot rate the project according to a simple notion of ‘value for money’: there are too many factors involved.

a simple precaution

You can easily reduce the risk of theft by taking a few simple precautions.

a simple question (= one that is easy to answer )

All you have to do is answer the three simple questions below.

a simple reason (= one that is easy to understand )

I hate mobile phones, for the simple reason that it is now impossible to get away from them.

a simple technique

It is amazing what a difference these simple techniques can make.

a simple test

Your doctor can give you a simple blood test to check for anaemia.

a simple tip

He has some simple tips for saving money when you're at the supermarket.

a simple/easy matter (= something that is easy to do )

Putting together the bookcases is a fairly simple matter.

a simple/easy solution

There is no easy solution to this problem.

by the simple expedient of

Moore escaped by the simple expedient of lying down in a clump of grass.

easy/difficult/simple etc to use

Drop-down menus make the program very easy to use.

happy/sensitive/brave/simple etc soul

He is really quite a sensitive soul.

have a healthy/simple etc lifestyle

We had very different lifestyles.

lead a healthy/simple etc lifestyle (= live in a particular way )

You can change your eating habits and lead a healthier lifestyle.

live a healthy/simple etc lifestyle

I had enough money to live a lavish lifestyle.

plain/simple (= without anything added or without decoration )

He liked eating simple food, nothing spicy.

simple fracture

simple interest

simple

He was a man of simple tastes

(= he liked simple things )

simple

The latest model of the car has a much simpler design.

simple

The rules of the game are quite simple.

simple

The children help with simple tasks like carrying in water or logs for the fire.

simple/plain/basic/sheer common sense (= very obviously sensible )

Locking your doors at night is simple common sense.

the simple/easy answer

There are a lot of problems and no simple answers.

the simple/plain/naked truth (= the truth, with nothing added, left out, or hidden )

The simple truth is that there isn’t enough money to pay for it.

COLLOCATIONS FROM CORPUS

■ ADVERB

as

If only it were as simple for military plutonium.

It is as simple as that.

Thus, removing Windows software is not as simple as yanking out that directory and the files it contains.

But then, it's not as simple as that.

Millions of vacationing seniors have discovered the answer to stress-free, economical travel is as simple as hopping on a bus.

But the situation isn't as simple as that.

fairly

Some of the boats chiselled into the rocks are fairly simple .

Before, the choices were fairly simple: sheer nude or basic black.

Voice over It's fairly simple to spot the difference between the real thing and a fake.

It was fairly simple to devise an educational jump-start for her.

Although the optimum phase resistance can be calculated, in practice it is a fairly simple matter to determine the optimum experimentally.

Paul Collins's needs are fairly simple: paint and canvas.

The topological structure of the decision space can be quite complicated in even a fairly simple program.

It also would be fairly simple to operate, making it more likely that parents would use it.

much

It was much simpler than that.

As we will see shortly, it is much simpler to assure ourselves of gains from trade if it is true.

It was much simpler four years ago.

It is much simpler and neater-though not necessarily cheaper-simply to start with raw sugar.

There is a much simpler explanation of the animal's behaviour.

I think the plot is much simpler .

Fortunately, there are animals in which the process is not only much simpler but can be observed directly.

Vivian may as well lose her wits; only something much simpler can help her.

quite

It was quite simple really - she wouldn't speak to him.

The choice of which method to use is actually quite simple .

Most ferreters today would use one of these locators and the procedure is quite simple .

The reason for this is quite simple .

But what it really means is quite simple .

Example B is still quite simple .

The intention is quite simple: to identify and match likely responders and users to the credit offering.

relatively

Earlier releases of the software used two relatively simple ways to provide fault tolerance.

This scheme often works because users tend to choose relatively simple or familiar words as passwords.

What would the historian want from the relatively simple records of the water authority?

A schematic version of this relatively simple circuit is shown in Figure 9.2.

Before the landing, geologists thought Mars' crust was relatively simple , made up mostly of ordinary basaltic lava rock.

Although the concept of fund accounting is relatively simple , specific applications of it can be difficult to understand.

Although the puzzles are enjoyable, they are relatively simple to figure out, making the game short work for experienced gamers.

so

Fishbase is so simple to operate that no documentation file has been considered necessary.

Something so simple and yet so complicated.

Things were never so simple and clear again.

It was all so simple , I nearly gagged for joy when this idea came to me.

It had all been so simple until now.

I bought them on the principle that anything so simple , however modest, would be unlikely to go wrong.

The cells of viruses are so simple , they hardly qualify as cells at all.

We are so simple sometimes, and fortified so strangely.

that

Yet things are evidently not that simple .

Unfortunately, however, things are not quite that simple .

But of course it wasn't that simple .

But it isn't quite that simple .

Life just isn't that simple .

It's that simple . let's go back to my hotel and fool around.

very

A modern multi-storey office block is a very simple design.

There are three very simple but profound advantages to a more casual style of dressing.

They take the user from very simple counting and progress to adding two numbers up to a total of 20.

These women ask for little and lead very simple lives.

Payback Payback is a very simple and useful method, and hence it is popular.

Now these were very simple men at least in our terms of culture, learning, and civilization.

I was asked particularly to notice the very simple but effective apparatus for raising the coaches.

Yet it is very simple to prepare and offers immense satisfaction for those who follow some simple guidelines.

■ NOUN

answer

There is a short and simple answer to this question.

We persist in grasping at neat, simple answers , when we should be questioning everything.

The simple answer is, they do not.

There is, unfortunately, no simple answer , for our knowledge on the subject will always be limited.

The simple answer is - yes.

Absent a definitively superior or ideal network architecture, there is no simple answer .

This depends entirely on you and your children and there is no simple answer .

The simple answer , of course, is safety and quality of life.

case

It would be nice if the two approaches met, but I fear this is true only in the simplest cases .

In the simple case of Tommy Termite, financial statements will be prepared directly from the general ledger accounts.

The finite element and dynamic stiffness methods are introduced and exemplified in simple cases .

In the simplest case , you may not be sure whether you should continue to turn up for work or not.

Faldo's disqualification was a simple case to administer.

Instead it's just a simple case of steering into the slides and normal service is resumed.

We now proceed to examine some simple cases .

Consider a simple case with only two molecules.

example

In this simple example , there is an obvious resolution to the dilemma.

One simple example of the process would be estimating the height of a child by looking at the height of the parents.

Let us begin with the simplest example and argue from that.

Smith liked to use simple examples .

Here is a simple example of the complexity at issue.

A simple example will make the concept clearer.

Clause 7.4 of Precedent 3 is a simple example of such a clause.

expedient

Now down into crawler gear he pushes on, finding regular protection by the simple expedient of removing most of the ice!

They divined the contents of sealed envelopes by the simple expedient of opening the staples at the other end of the envelope.

So he adopted the simple expedient of not opening it until it was beyond his power to act on it.

The Pearl has a 6,500-strong sales force which collects insurance premiums and arranges policies by the simple expedient of house-to-house calls.

Billy Bragg has the unusual gift of making other people's songs his own by the simple expedient of singing them.

And moral outrage at the use of simple expedients can still run high.

fact

The simple fact of the matter is this: Sparrows love cars.

That simple fact , which would appear to be self- evident, keeps surprising people.

This simple fact deprives you of most of the information you would normally have about the other person.

Intelligent water policies can be designed, but they must take into account the simple fact that this a desert.

The extent to which the Samoan squad has been turned upside down in recent seasons is illustrated by one simple fact .

I wanted to find the simple facts of her life.

One of his linguistics professors, a man named Samuel Goldstein, had helped him understand the consequences of that simple fact .

This simple fact was studiously ignored by ill-disposed critics, then and since.

form

It is more important in simpler forms of learning such as skill learning when it usually means repetition.

Couples with no need to itemize deductions can use the 1040A, another relatively simple form .

White motion gives the simplest form of scaling noise.

At first glance, his trademark paintings and sculptures seem to be the simplest form of abstraction.

This is a simple form of learning.

This forced on builders a simple form of Gothic architecture.

We will also look at a simple form of self-massage to help banish cellulite.

life

How simple life would be, if it was as simple as we think!

The illustrations are very engaging, where you can show your child the beauty of living a simple life .

He believed in the simple life and slept on a mattress on the floor.

A simple life , no one to worry about except yourself. --- Till you go and climb a water tower.

Coming from a group whose aim is the simpler life , such an entry into the market place raises some intriguing questions.

These women ask for little and lead very simple lives .

matter

Although the optimum phase resistance can be calculated, in practice it is a fairly simple matter to determine the optimum experimentally.

Washing her clothes was no simple matter with Hazel there.

As far as specific benefits are concerned, the removal of inequalities based on age would be technically a relatively simple matter .

It is a relatively simple matter to translate the structural possibilities of this model into ideal types of heroic action.

Yet defining capacity in banking is no simple matter .

It was a simple matter for Venus to bring about a meeting between the two.

To most Victorians, truth seemed a simple matter , only confused by people like Pontius Pilate, of conformity to facts.

Beyond that, however labor markets are no longer a simple matter of distinguishing between white and blue collars.

question

You will hear two simple questions .

A simple question first: how do you know you are happy with this arrangement?

Are there any simple questions that can pick out an alcoholic?

A simple question requiring a long and thoughtful answer.

Pupils can continually be encouraged to ask simple questions to make this link.

A larger, more complicated set of questions then came to replace the first simple questions.

reason

For one very simple reason , my friend.

It is going to take off for the simple reason that everybody, with the fundamentalists in the lead, wants change.

It failed for the simple reason that no coherent principles or policies came forward to replace the old ones.

He built it for a very simple reason .

But there was a simpler reason than that: his hunch told him he was not in the mood for it.

Animals with warning colours on average live longer than those without, and there is a simple reason for this.

task

You find yourself doing the strangest things that can only be because you are no longer capable of doing the simplest tasks .

Where keeping house and cooking were not female chores but simple tasks of pleasure and survival.

Handwashing seems such a simple task but in fact is a subject of surprising contention among health professionals.

People must sit in front of these computers constantly, poking and prodding to do even the simplest task .

They may become apathetic, unable to do even the simplest task .

It was no simple task to complete; one workman, thrown into the raging rapids below almost lost his life.

Voeller could not believe his luck and had the simple task of tapping the ball into an empty goal.

Moving a carrier from one coast to another is no simple task , Roulstone said.

things

We like simple things such as lamb and mashed potatoes.

Of course, complicated things consist of lots of simpler things.

Another problem is that the wildlife lobby is divided even over simple things like the future of old farm woodlands.

Four simple things , for example, can be combined in different ways to make twenty-four different complex things.

Why am I moved by such simple things ?

Little things , simple things, like a passport with an eagle on the front cover.

Physics is the study of simple things that do not tempt us to invoke design.

They have a hard time learning even the simplest things .

truth

Even so, it took me till I got to my own house to realise the very simple truth .

The simple truths according to Marx and Lenin are now crowded by doubts.

No-one wanted to believe the simple truth .

The simple truth is you don't need to know that much to find your way around.

One of the simplest truths about history is that progress is not linear.

Certainly it misses the simple truth of patience.

John Arlott's armour was his honest thought and simple truth .

The simple truth is companies with large central data processing facilities will still need these unpleasant, draughty, noisy rooms.

way

The simple way to make superb sauces.

It should be explained in a very simple way .

Earlier releases of the software used two relatively simple ways to provide fault tolerance.

There is a simple way of calculating your aerobic walking rate.

This leads to a simple way of stating the amount of distortion: as the ratio of harmonics to fundamental.

It shows us some simple ways in which we can all join the drive for a better environment.

Well, the simplest way , when it's feasible, is by direct observation.

PHRASES FROM OTHER ENTRIES

be a different/tricky/simple etc proposition

pure and simple

The motive for the robbery was greed, pure and simple.

A gratuitous promise, pure and simple, remains unenforceable unless given under seal.

But lineage pure and simple was not the only consideration.

But more subtle problems remain-related to sexism, pure and simple.

If they lived in the Middle East they were bad, pure and simple.

The bottom line is in the ledger book, pure and simple.

The first is pure and simple file transfer.

The man wants revenge, pure and simple, and he's working logically through the family, saving Stone until last.

EXAMPLES FROM OTHER ENTRIES

simple organisms such as bacteria

a simple black dress

Billy was a very simple boy.

Even the simple act of eating dinner together can make an evening special.

He couldn't even answer very simple questions.

His children find European numbering simpler than the Chinese system.

I'm sure there's a perfectly simple explanation.

I like this recipe because it's so simple .

Many vegetarian meals are delicious and simple to prepare.

Milk is cheap now for one simple reason: there's too much of it available.

She drew us a simple map so that we wouldn't get lost.

She liked the building's simple , clean lines.

She wore a simple black dress.

Speak slowly and use simple words so that everyone understands.

The chicken was served with a simple cream sauce.

The meal was simple , but delicious.

The new photocopier is much simpler to use than the one we had before.

The secret of successful dinner parties? Keep it simple .

The tribes of Central New Guinea use very simple tools such as hammers and axes.

There must be a perfectly simple explanation.

EXAMPLES FROM CORPUS

In front a simple porch offered a spectacular vista of coconut-fringed beach, lagoon, and open sea beyond.

Only the simpler, uglier land mine has shed more blood.

Remember when packing was a simple exercise?

Salads on the other hand, are simple , satisfying and sizable.

The simple sieves we have been considering so far in this chapter are all examples of single-step selection.

The above equation is the next simplest correction, using a non- unit power of the size attribute.

To the simple call of justice, there are a number of possible objections.

Longman DOCE5 Extras English vocabulary.      Дополнительный английский словарь Longman DOCE5.