facile
fac·ile/ˈfæs.əl/adjective
facile is spelled F-A-C-I-L-E: 6 letters and 2 syllables (fac·ile). It appears about once in every 2 million words in written English, the 46,473rd most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a derogatory adjective, facile means “Easy; contemptibly easy” (English Wiktionary, September 2026).
How many letters and syllables are in facile?
| Letters | 6: F-A-C-I-L-E |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 2: fac·ile |
| In writing | about once in every 2 million words; the 46,473rd most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How common is facile?
Facile appears about once in every 2 million words in written English, the 46,473rd most frequent word form in the list.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How do you pronounce facile?
- UK /ˈfæs.aɪl/
- US /ˈfæs.əl/
- US [ˈfæs.ɫ̩]
Facile has 2 syllables, split fac·ile in writing.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: LL-Q1860_(eng)-Vealhurl-facile.wav, En-us-facile.ogg, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Forms of facile
- more facile comparative
- most facile superlative
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does facile mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
adjective
- 1
derogatoryEasy; contemptibly easy.
- 2
archaicAmiable, flexible, easy to get along with.
His facile disposition made him many friends.
- 3
Effortless, fluent (of work, abilities etc.).
Her writing was facile and articulate.
- 4
Lazy, simplistic, superficial (especially of explanations, discussions etc.).
He arrived with a facile understanding of her works.
- 5
Of a reaction or other process, taking place readily.
Decarboxylation of beta-keto acids is facile.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Facile in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
In the sense easy, taking minimal effort:
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.
Where does facile come from?
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.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).