simplify
/ˈsɪmplɪfaɪ/verb
simplify is spelled S-I-M-P-L-I-F-Y: 8 letters and 3 syllables. It appears 2.9 times per million words in written English, the 15,798th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a verb, simplify means “To make simpler, either by reducing in complexity, reducing to component parts, or making easier to understand” (English Wiktionary, September 2026).
How many letters and syllables are in simplify?
| Letters | 8: S-I-M-P-L-I-F-Y |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 3 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | 2.9 times per million words; the 15,798th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation and the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How common is simplify?
Simplify appears 2.9 times per million words in written English, the 15,798th 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 simplify?
- /ˈsɪmplɪfaɪ/
- /ˈsɪmpləfaɪ/
Simplify has 3 syllables (counted from its American pronunciation in the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: LL-Q1860_(eng)-Vealhurl-simplify.wav, LL-Q1860_(eng)-Vealhurl-simplify2.wav, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Forms of simplify
- simplifies present, singular, he/she/it
- simplifying participle, present
- simplified participle, past
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does simplify mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
verb
- 1
To make simpler, either by reducing in complexity, reducing to component parts, or making easier to understand.
- 2
To become simpler.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Simplify in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | simplifier |
| German | vereinfachen , sich vereinfachen, einfacher werden |
| Portuguese | simplificar , simplificar-se |
| Spanish | simplificar |
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 simplify come from?
From the French simplifier, equivalent to simple + -ify.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).