I. ˈsimpəl adjective
( simpler -p(ə)lə(r) ; simplest -p(ə)lə̇st)
Etymology: Middle English, from Old French, plain, uncomplicated, artless, from Latin simplus or simplex; Latin simplus from sem-, sim- one + -plus multiplied by; Latin simplic-, simplex from sem-, sim- + -plic-, -plex -fold; akin to Greek di plak-, di plax twofold, double, and perhaps to Latin plaga surface, region — more at same , double , flake
1. : free from guile : innocent , artless
children grow up in simple beauty around his table — Irish Digest
2.
a. : free from vanity or conceit : modest , unassuming
his simple manners and unaffected friendliness — A.W.Long
b. : free from ostentation or display : plain , unadorned
her black dress, simple to austerity — W.S.Maugham
a simple rectangular brick building — American Guide Series: Virginia
his home simple , his possessions few — P.E.James
love of the simple life, of trees and small animals — B.M.Woodbridge
3.
a. : of humble origin : common
found it easier to proclaim himself a prophet than in his home city, where everyone had known him as a simple camel driver — H.W.Van Loon
b. archaic : lacking special distinction : ordinary
this change affected … only the simple barons — William Stubbs
c. archaic : wanting in power or importance : feeble , insignificant
a simple woman, much too weak to oppose your cunning — Shakespeare
scoffed at … this high quest as at a simple thing — Alfred Tennyson
4.
a. : lacking in knowledge or scholarly finesse : uneducated , inexpert
a simple amateur … or a serious scholar — Denys Sutton
show my mind, according to my shallow simple skill — Shakespeare
b.
(1) : mentally retarded : stupid , half-witted
one of the girls is simple , the other works as a domestic — J.M.Mogey
(2) : easily deceived : credulous , gullible
the whole town was baited with … trickery to catch the simple cowhand and remove his cash — S.H.Holbrook
c. : being at a relatively low cultural level : naïve , unsophisticated
the worldwide story of the conquest of simple peoples and their homelands by the civilization, arms, and diseases of a more dominant race — American Guide Series: Minnesota
5.
a. : lacking admixture or qualification : pure , sheer
simple honesty requires us to admit that none of our creeds are entirely free from guesswork — M.R.Cohen
a net rusher pure and simple lacking a really powerful serve — Sydney (Australia) Bulletin
in no case may a warrant be issued for a simple exploratory search — Paul Wilson
ratification of treaties by a simple majority — Vera M. Dean
b.
(1) : free of secondary complications
a simple fracture
(2) : containing or consisting of elementary ingredients
her cures were simple … usually very sensible — Mary Webb
c. : consisting of or constituting a basic element : fundamental , uncompounded
one of those simple and profound experiences … which people seem always to have known when it happens to them — Thomas Wolfe
even under the most uniform laboratory conditions, a simple color will be complex to the extent of having a bluish edge — John Dewey
specifically : elemental 2a(2)
d.
(1) : having a relatively small and uncomplicated molecule : not complex
(2) : made up of essentially similar constituents
a simple compound
: characterized by the same groups, radicals, or ions
triacetin is a simple glyceride
— opposed to mixed
e. : admitting of no analysis into parts — opposed to complex
f. : having the least possible scoring value in its class
6.
a. : grammatically uncomplicated: as
(1) : having no subsidiary components (as suffixes or combining forms) : being a simplex
a simple word
— contrasted with complex, compound
(2) : having only one main clause and no subordinate clauses
“let's go for a walk” is a simple sentence
— contrasted with complex, compound
(3) : having no modifiers, complements, or objects
in the sentence “birds fly” birds is the simple subject and fly the simple predicate
— compare complete
(4) : formed without the use of an auxiliary verb
simple tense
— opposed to compound
b.
(1) : having two, three, or four basic rhythmic units to the musical measure (as 2/4, 3/2, 4/8)
simple time
simple meter
— compare compound
(2) : free from elaboration or figuration
simple harmony
simple counterpoint
— contrasted with figurate
(3) : not greater than the octave
simple interval
c. : not complex or compound
simple fractions
simple magnitudes
simple operations
simple equations
simple interest
d.
(1) : not subdivided into branches
simple stem
(2) : monocarpellary
(3) : consisting of cells of a similar structure and function
simple tissue
(4) : developing from a single ovary
simple fruit
e. : uncomplicated in structure
a simple lens
a simple democracy in which the heads of families met fortnightly to consult about … matters — American Guide Series: Rhode Island
f. : apparently dependent on the action of a single gene
simple inherited characters
g.
(1) : homogeneous 2a
a simple mineral
(2) : primitive 1c — compare space lattice
7.
a. : oral or written but not under seal or of record
simple contract
b. : unaccompanied by complicating factors (as violence)
c. : having no limitation or restrictions : absolute , unconditional
simple obligation
— compare fee simple
8. : readily understood or performed : causing little difficulty : easy , straightforward
our mother … was as complex as our father was simple — L.C.Powys
the causes … lie deep, and to explain them is not simple — William Petersen
nontechnical, clear-cut, easily understandable, simple step-by-step … rules which could be used by the average person — W.J.Reilly
Synonyms:
foolish , silly , fatuous , asinine : simple in this sense may imply either a degree of intelligence inadequate to cope with anything complex, a more definite feeblemindedness, or, in relation to persons of normal capacity, a failure to use one's intelligence
she's rather simple, poor dear, and she thinks we're all wonderful — W.S.Maugham
you are fretting about General Tilucy, and that is very simple of you — Jane Austen
foolish may indicate a mere lack of judgment or discretion or capricious failure to employ good sense and seriousness
virtuous or vicious, thrifty or careless, wise or foolish — G.B.Shaw
but foolish man foregoes his proper bliss — William Cowper
silly may describe gross lack of judgment; it may connote folly, inanity, or nonsense
the cut of her chiffon dress hinted that she had a silly conception of romance — Rebecca West
the vapid and silly chatter of ordinary sociability — J.C.Powys
fatuous is likely to involve fond, delusive, obtuse foolishness and disregard of reality
with fatuous beaming he described a night at Barney's; without any success whatever, he tried to be funny — Sinclair Lewis
her haughtiness in the day of glory was simply fatuous, based on stupidity — Arnold Bennett
a number of fatuous theories about the connection of Central American culture with that of the Old World have been broached — Edward Clodd
asinine describes utter failure to exercise normal intelligence, rationality, or perception
his reply was simply contemptuous … “What an asinine question!” — Bram Stoker
their cumulative efforts have resulted in the most asinine and inept movie that has come out of Hollywood in years — John McCarten
Synonym: see in addition easy , natural , plain , pure .
II. noun
( -s )
Etymology: Middle English, from simple (I)
1.
a. : a person of humble birth : commoner
thought very little of anybody, simples or gentry — Virginia Woolf
b.
(1) : an uneducated or unduly credulous person : ignoramus , gull
universal education destroyed the advantage which the shrewd had over the simple — Reinhold Niebuhr
(2) : a mentally retarded person : simpleton
buffoons … were usually simples or hunchbacks — J.S.Clarke
2.
a. : a plant used for its supposed medicinal properties
the herb garden and barn redolent with drying bunches of simples — Lucy Embury
b. : a vegetable drug or medicinal preparation having only one ingredient
herbs for their homely simples — Flora Thompson
3. : a single element : one component of a complex ; specifically : an unanalyzable constituent
4. simples plural , dialect chiefly England : foolish behavior : silliness
you should be cut for the simples this morning — Jonathan Swift
5. : a set of cords for raising the heddles of a drawloom
6. : a feast of the lowest liturgical order of precedence in the Roman Catholic Church — compare double 1b
III. adverb
1. obsolete : in an unassuming manner : humbly , modestly
as simple as I stand here — Ben Jonson
2. dialect : in a silly manner : foolishly
IV. verb
( simpled ; simpled ; simpling -p(ə)liŋ ; simples )
intransitive verb
[ simple (II) ]
obsolete : to gather herbs for simples
transitive verb
[ simple (I) ]
: to cause (a compound steam engine) to work like a simple engine by admitting live steam directly from the boiler to the low-pressure cylinder
simple the engine in starting a heavy freight train
V. adjective
of a statistical hypothesis : specifying exact values for one or more statistical parameters — compare composite herein