Thesaurus

simple

adjective

Synonyms and Antonyms of simple

1 free from all additions or embellishment

a simple design, and one that never goes out of fashion

Synonyms of simple

bald, bare, naked, plain, plain-vanilla, unadorned, undecorated, unembellished, unornamented, unvarnished

Words Related to simple

denuded, divested, stripped

au naturel, earthy, elemental, homely, natural, unsophisticated

forthright, honest, modest, unpretentious

antiseptic, austere, bleak, severe, spartan, stark

inconspicuous, muted, restrained, sober, subdued, toned (down), unobtrusive

conservative, quiet, understated

Near Antonyms of simple

flamboyant, flashy, garish, gaudy, glittery, glitzy, loud, ostentatious, showy, splashy, swank (or swanky), tawdry

bedizened, florid, lurid, ornate

exaggerated, overdecorated, overdone, overwrought

baroque, elaborate, extravagant, ornate, rococo

appareled (or apparelled), arrayed, bedecked, decked-out, dressed, embroidered, garnished, trimmed

Antonyms of simple

adorned, decorated, embellished, fancy, ornamented

2 free from any intent to deceive or impress others

growing up in simple innocence

Synonyms of simple

artless, genuine, guileless, honest, ingenuous, innocent, naive (or naïve), natural, real, sincere, true, unaffected, unpretending, unpretentious

Words Related to simple

childlike, dewy-eyed, gee-whiz, impressionable, inexperienced, malleable, persuadable, persuasible, simpleminded, unsophisticated, unworldly, wide-eyed

spontaneous, unforced, unstudied

candid, direct, frank, free, free-spoken, open, openhearted, plain, plainspoken, single-minded, straight, straightforward, unguarded

trustful, trusting

exploitable, gullible (also gullable), susceptible, unwary

Phrases Synonymous with simple

on the level

Near Antonyms of simple

critical, cynical, mistrustful, skeptical, suspicious, wary

cosmopolitan, sophisticated, worldly, worldly-wise

civilized, cultivated, cultured, polished, refined

crooked, deceitful, deceptive, devious, double-dealing, hypocritical, manipulative, two-faced

arch, calculating, canny, crafty, cunning, designing, foxy, knavish, scheming, sharp, shifty, shrewd, slick, slippery, sly, subtle, tricky, underhanded, wily

flattering, mealymouthed, smooth, sycophantic, unctuous

feigned, forced, strained

Antonyms of simple

affected, artful, artificial, assuming, dishonest, dissembling, dissimulating, fake, false, guileful, insincere, phony (also phoney), pretentious

3 having no exceptions or restrictions

thatʼs the simple truth

Synonyms of simple

absolute, all-out, arrant, blank, blooming [chiefly British], bodacious [Southern & Midland], categorical (also categoric), clean, complete, consummate, cotton-picking, crashing, damn, damned, dead, deadly, definite, downright, dreadful, fair, flat, flat-out, out-and-out, outright, perfect, plumb, profound, pure, rank, regular, sheer, stark, stone, straight-out, thorough, thoroughgoing, total, unadulterated, unalloyed, unconditional, unmitigated, unqualified, utter, very

Words Related to simple

authentic, classic, genuine, real, veritable

constant, endless, eternal, perpetual, undying, unremitting

extreme, unrestricted

confirmed, habitual, hopeless, inveterate

extraordinary, frightful, horrible, huge, main, superlative, supreme, surpassing, terrible, terrific

Near Antonyms of simple

doubtful, dubious, equivocal, qualified, questionable, restricted, uncertain

4 involving minimal difficulty or effort

I got all of the answers right because it was such a simple test

Synonyms of simple

cheap, downhill, easy, effortless, facile, fluent, fluid, hands-down, light, painless, ready, royal, smooth, snap, soft

Words Related to simple

idiotproof, mindless, quick, straightforward, unchallenging, uncomplicated

apparent, clear, clear-cut, distinct, evident, manifest, obvious, open-and-shut, palpable, patent, perspicuous, plain, transparent, unambiguous, unequivocal, unmistakable

Near Antonyms of simple

burdensome, exhausting, onerous, oppressive, painful, stressful, taxing, troublesome

abstruse, complex, complicated, intricate, involved, knotty, problematic (also problematical), recondite

Antonyms of simple

arduous, demanding, difficult, exacting, formidable, grueling (or gruelling), hard, herculean, killer, labored, laborious, murderous, rough, severe, stiff, strenuous, toilful, toilsome, tough

5 lacking in worldly wisdom or informed judgment

developers mistakenly thought that the local residents were simple people who would sell their land for practically nothing

Synonyms of simple

aw-shucks, dewy, dewy-eyed, green, ingenuous, innocent, naïf (or naif), naive (or naïve), primitive, simpleminded, uncritical, unknowing, unsophisticated, unsuspecting, unsuspicious, unwary, unworldly, wide-eyed

Words Related to simple

callow, childish, immature, inexperienced, raw

childlike, idealistic, impractical, unrealistic

believing, credulous, gullible (also gullable), susceptible, trustful, trusting, unguarded

beguiled, duped, gulled, tricked

careless, heedless, thoughtless

Near Antonyms of simple

critical, cynical, doubting, incredulous, skeptical, suspecting, suspicious, unconvinced

careful, cautious, guarded, leery (also leary), wary, watchful

down-to-earth, hardheaded, pragmatic (also pragmatical), realistic, sober

street-smart, streetwise

Antonyms of simple

cosmopolitan, experienced, knowing, sophisticated, worldly, worldly-wise

6 lacking in education or the knowledge gained from books

the fact that he didnʼt go to college doesnʼt mean heʼs simple

Synonyms of simple

analphabetic, benighted, dark, ignorant, illiterate, nonliterate, rude, uneducated, uninstructed, unlearned, unlettered, unread, unschooled, untaught, untutored

Words Related to simple

functionally illiterate, innumerate, semiliterate, unknowledgeable

artless, lowbrow, philistine, uncultivated, uncultured

callow, green, inexperienced, innocent, naive (or naïve)

unsophisticated

raw, unskilled, untrained

brainless, dumb, idiotic (also idiotical), imbecile (or imbecilic), moronic, stupid, witless

foolish, senseless, silly

Near Antonyms of simple

brilliant, intelligent, smart

experienced, expert, trained

erudite, learned, polyhistoric, polymath (or polymathic), scholarly

cultivated, cultured, highbrow, intellectual

acquainted, aware, familiar

Antonyms of simple

educated, knowledgeable, lettered, literate, schooled, well-informed, well-read

7 not having or showing an ability to absorb ideas readily

donʼt be so quick to characterize people who have trouble with computers as simple

Synonyms of simple

airheaded, birdbrained, bonehead, boneheaded, brain-dead, brainless, bubbleheaded, chuckleheaded, dense, dim, dim-witted, doltish, dopey (also dopy), dorky [slang], dull, dumb, dunderheaded, empty-headed, fatuous, gormless [chiefly British], half-witted, knuckleheaded, lamebrain (or lamebrained), lunkheaded, mindless, oafish, obtuse, opaque, pinheaded, senseless, slow, slow-witted, soft, softheaded, stupid, thick, thick-witted, thickheaded, unintelligent, unsmart, vacuous, weak-minded, witless

Words Related to simple

cretinous, feebleminded, simpleminded

boobish, foolish, idiotic (also idiotical), imbecile (or imbecilic), moronic

ignorant, illiterate, lowbrow, uneducated, uninformed, unintellectual, untaught, unthinking

absurd, asinine, balmy, cockeyed, crackpot, crazy, cuckoo, daffy, daft, dippy, dotty, featherheaded, fool, half-baked, harebrained, insane, kooky (also kookie), loony (also looney), lunatic, mad, nonsensical, nutty, preposterous, sappy, screwball, silly, tomfool, unwise, wacky (also whacky), zany

fallacious, illogical, invalid, irrational, unreasonable

Near Antonyms of simple

ingenious, resourceful

acute, astute, discerning, insightful, keen, knowing, perceptive, percipient, perspicacious, sagacious, sage, sapient, savvy, wise

cerebral, erudite, highbrow, intellectual, knowledgeable, learned, literate, scholarly, thinking, well-read

educated, informed, schooled, skilled, trained

crafty, cunning, foxy, shrewd, wily

judicious, prudent, sane, sensible, sound

logical, rational, reasonable, valid

Antonyms of simple

apt, brainy, bright, brilliant, clever, fast, hyperintelligent, intelligent, keen, nimble, quick, quick-witted, sharp, sharp-witted, smart, supersmart, ultrasmart

Synonym Discussion of simple

simple, foolish, silly, fatuous, asinine mean actually or apparently deficient in intelligence. simple implies a degree of intelligence inadequate to cope with anything complex or involving mental effort.

- considered people simple who had trouble with computers

foolish implies the character of being or seeming unable to use judgment, discretion, or good sense.

- foolish stunts

silly suggests failure to act as a rational being especially by ridiculous behavior.

- the silly antics of revelers

fatuous implies foolishness, inanity, and disregard of reality.

- fatuous conspiracy theories

asinine suggests utter and contemptible failure to use normal rationality or perception.

- an asinine plot

synonyms see in addition easy

Learn More about simple

See words that rhyme with simple Dictionary: Definition of simple Medical Dictionary: Definition of simple Spanish Central: Translation of simple Nglish: Translation of simple for Spanish speakers Britannica English: Translation of simple for Arabic speakers

Seen and Heard

What made you want to look up simple? Please tell us where you read or heard it (including the quote, if possible).

show comments

WORD OF THE DAY

superjacent

lying above or upon

Words at Play

Ask the Editors

Word Games