facile

\fa.sil\

/\fa.sil\/ adj

By · According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA) ·

The verdict

“facile” is in the everyday core of French, ranked #654 in French word frequency and used as an adjective.

#654
frequency rank, French
6
letters
8
tracked misspellings
20
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - Qui se fait sans peine.

Visual similarity to commonly confused words

How many letter changes separate each confused pair (Levenshtein distance, normalized).

facile vs file
67% similar
facile vs fail
67% similar
facile vs faire
67% similar

Source: PlainSpell confusable corpus (Wiktionary, CC BY-SA).

Key facts for facile
PropertyValue
Headwordfacile
LanguageFrench
Part of speechAdjective
IPA\fa.sil\
Letters6
Frequency rank#654
Misspellings tracked8
Confusable pairs20
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Where “facile” sits in French frequency

Every-word frequency runs from the handful of words we use constantly (left) to the long tail used once in a blue moon (right). facile lands here:

#1#100#1K#10K#100K
← used constantlyrarely used →

Scale is logarithmic (each tick is 10× rarer). Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

The French entry for facile is 6 letters long, classified as an adjective, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as \fa.sil\. Corpus data places it at rank #654 in overall French word frequency, putting it firmly in the everyday core of the language. Wiktionary records 12 distinct senses for this headword, so context determines which meaning a reader should apply.

Our generated misspelling index lists 8 likely wrong-spelling variants for facile, with forms such as "afcile", "faccile", and "faciel". Each variant is a distinct typo pattern an edit-distance generator flags, typically a doubled-consonant error, a silent-letter drop, or a vowel substitution. It also participates in 20 confusable-pair relationships, "file", "fail", "faire", and more, since the words sound or look close enough that writers reach for the wrong one mid-sentence.

Our source data has no etymology on file for this entry, so its spelling pattern is best understood through pronunciation rather than a traceable origin. The correct French form is facile, spelled F-A-C-I-L-E.

Definition

  1. 1
    Qui se fait sans peine.
  2. 2
    Qui est aisé à faire.
  3. 3
    Qui ne présente pas de difficultés.
  4. 4
    Qui est aisé à aborder et à converser.
  5. 5
    Qualifie un travail qui coûte peu, qui se fait vite et bien.
  6. 6
    Qui ne sent pas la gêne, qui paraît fait sans peine, sans effort.
  7. 7
    Qui exécute sans peine.
  8. 8
    Dont on voit qu'aucun effort ne fut fait pour le faire.
  9. 9
    Qui se plie sans peine aux circonstances, qui se prête aisément à ce que l’on attend de lui.
  10. 10
    Dont on peut faire tout ce qu’on veut.
  11. 11
    Qualifiait une femme, une jeune fille, qui se laissait séduire aisément.
  12. 12
    Peu sévère, peu contraignant, relâché, en parlant des choses.

Synonyms

aisédans la pochedans le sac

Antonyms

difficile

This word in other languages

easy(English)fácil(Español)leicht(Deutsch)fácil(Português)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as: afcile,faccile,faciel,facille,faclie,faicle,fcaile,ffacile

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of facile - counted as single-character edits (an insertion, a deletion, or a substituted letter). The larger the bar, the easier the typo is to spot; one-edit slips are the ones that sneak past readers.

afcile2faccile1faciel2facille1faclie2faicle2fcaile2ffacile1
Edit distance from "facile"

Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA); frequency ordering uses the FrequencyWords open word-frequency list (2018 French corpus, MIT). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "facile"?
"facile" is spelled F-A-C-I-L-E. The IPA pronunciation is \fa.sil\.
What does "facile" mean?
As an adjective, "facile" means: Qui se fait sans peine.
What words are commonly confused with "facile"?
"facile" is commonly confused with "file", "fail", "faire". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "facile"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "facile" is \fa.sil\. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What language does "facile" come from?
"facile" is a French word. PlainSpell covers definitions, pronunciations, and spelling data across English, Spanish, Portuguese, French, and German.
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Yes, PlainSpell is a completely free word reference. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, confusable pairs, homophones, and spelling corrections across 5 languages without any sign-up or subscription.

Using “facile”

The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.

  • The one correct French spelling is F-A-C-I-L-E - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
  • Say it as \fa.sil\ (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
  • Don't mix it up with “file” - see the side-by-side comparison. facile vs file
  • Browse more French words and confusable pairs in the same reference. French words
Data Source

Wiktionary (via kaikki.org), licensed under CC BY-SA & GFDL. Word ordering uses an open word-frequency list; misspelling variants are generated by edit-distance from the correct headword.

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list FrequencyWords open word-frequency list