1. simple(n = noun.plant) - any herbaceous plant having medicinal properties;
2. simple(n = noun.person) simpleton - a person lacking intelligence or common sense;
1. simple(a = adj.all) - having few parts; not complex or complicated or involved; "a simple design"; "a simple problem"; "a simple substance"; "simple mechanisms"
Antonym: complex
Derived form noun simpleness2, noun simplicity1
2. simple(s = adj.all) elementary, uncomplicated, unproblematic - easy and not involved or complicated; "a simple game"; "an elementary problem in statistics"; "elementary, my dear Watson"; "found an uncomplicated solution to the problem"
Derived form noun simpleness3, noun simplicity4
3. simple(s = adj.all) bare, mere - apart from anything else; without additions or modifications; "only the bare facts"; "shocked by the mere idea"; "the simple passage of time was enough"; "the simple truth"
4. simple(s = adj.all) childlike, dewy-eyed, round-eyed, wide-eyed - exhibiting childlike simplicity and credulity; "childlike trust"; "dewy-eyed innocence"; "listened in round-eyed wonder"
Derived form noun simpleness1, noun simplicity2
5. simple(s = adj.all) dim-witted, simple-minded - lacking mental capacity and subtlety;
Derived form noun simpleness1
6. simple(a = adj.all) unsubdivided - (botany) of leaf shapes; of leaves having no divisions or subdivisions;
Antonym: compound
Derived form noun simplicity1
7. simple(s = adj.all) - unornamented; "a simple country schoolhouse"; "her black dress--simple to austerity"
Derived form noun simpleness4, noun simplicity5
1. Single; not complex; not infolded or entangled; uncombined; not compounded; not blended with something else; not complicated;
2. Plain; unadorned;
3. Mere; not other than; being only. [1913 Webster]
4. Not given to artifice, stratagem, or duplicity; undesigning; sincere; true. [1913 Webster]
5. Artless in manner; unaffected; unconstrained; natural; inartificial;; straightforward. [1913 Webster]
6. Direct; clear; intelligible; not abstruse or enigmatical;
7. Weak in intellect; not wise or sagacious; of but moderate understanding or attainments; hence, foolish; silly. Shak. [1913 Webster]
8. Not luxurious; without much variety; plain;
9. Humble; lowly; undistinguished. [1913 Webster]
10. Without subdivisions; entire;
11. Not capable of being decomposed into anything more simple or ultimate by any means at present known; elementary; thus, atoms are regarded as
12. Homogenous. [1913 Webster]
13. Consisting of a single individual or zooid;
1. Something not mixed or compounded. Shak. [1913 Webster]
2. A medicinal plant; -- so called because each vegetable was supposed to possess its particular virtue, and therefore to constitute a simple remedy. [1913 Webster]
3. A drawloom. [1913 Webster]
4. A feast which is not a double or a semidouble. [1913 Webster]
To gather simples, or medicinal plants. [1913 Webster]
simple, adj. & n.
--adj.
1 easily understood or done; presenting no difficulty (a simple explanation; a simple task).
2 not complicated or elaborate; without luxury or sophistication.
3 not compound; consisting of or involving only one element or operation etc.
4 absolute, unqualified, straightforward (the simple truth; a simple majority).
5 foolish or ignorant; gullible, feeble-minded (am not so simple as to agree to that).
6 plain in appearance or manner; unsophisticated, ingenuous, artless.
7 of low rank; humble, insignificant (simple people).
8 Bot. a consisting of one part. b (of fruit) formed from one pistil.
--n. archaic 1 a herb used medicinally.
2 a medicine made from it.
Idiom:
simple eye an eye of an insect, having only one lens. simple fracture a fracture of the bone only, without a skin wound. simple harmonic motion see HARMONIC. simple interest interest payable on a capital sum only (cf. compound interest (see COMPOUND)). simple interval Mus. an interval of one octave or less. simple machine any of the basic mechanical devices for applying a force (e.g. an inclined plane, wedge, or lever). simple sentence a sentence with a single subject and predicate. Simple Simon a foolish person (from the nursery-rhyme character). simple time Mus. a time with two, three, or four beats in a bar.
Derivative:
simpleness n.
Etymology:
ME f. OF f. L simplus
N plainness, simplicity, severity, plain terms, plain English, Saxon English, household words, plain, simple, unornamented, unadorned, unvarnished, homely, homespun, neat, severe, chaste, pure, Saxon, commonplace, matter-of- fact, natural, prosaic, dry, unvaried, monotonous, in plain terms, in plain words, in plain English, in plain common parlance, point-blank.
N smallness, littleness, tenuity, paucity, fewness, meanness, insignificance (unimportance), mediocrity, moderation, small quantity, modicum, trace, hint, minimum, vanishing point, material point, atom, particle, molecule, corpuscle, point, speck, dot, mote, jot, iota, ace, minutiae, details, look, thought, idea, soupcon, dab, dight, whit, tittle, shade, shadow, spark, scintilla, gleam, touch, cast, grain, scruple, granule, globule, minim, sup, sip, sop, spice, drop, droplet, sprinkling, dash, morceau, screed, smack, tinge, tincture, inch, patch, scantling, tatter, cantlet, flitter, gobbet, mite, bit, morsel, crumb, seed, fritter, shive, snip, snippet, snick, snack, snatch, slip, scrag, chip, chipping, shiver, sliver, driblet, clipping, paring, shaving, hair, nutshell, thimbleful, spoonful, handful, capful, mouthful, fragment, fraction, drop in the ocean, animalcule, trifle, mere nothing, next to nothing, hardly anything, just enough to swear by, the shadow of a shade, finiteness, finite quantity, small, little, diminutive, minute, fine, inconsiderable, paltry, faint, slender, light, slight, scanty, scant, limited, meager, sparing, few, low, so-so, middling, tolerable, no great shakes, below par, under par, below the mark, at a low ebb, halfway, moderate, modest, tender, subtle, inappreciable, evanescent, infinitesimal, homeopathic, very small, atomic, corpuscular, microscopic, molecular, subatomic, mere, simple, sheer, stark, bare, near run, dull, petty, shallow, stolid, ungifted, unintelligent, to a small extent, on a small scale, a little bit, a wee bit, slightly, imperceptibly, miserably, wretchedly, insufficiently, imperfectly, faintly, passably, pretty well, well enough, partially, in part, in a certain degree, to a certain degree, to a certain extent, comparatively, some, rather in some degree, in some measure, something, somewhat, simply, only, purely, merely, at least, at the least, at most, at the most, ever so little, as little as may be, tant soit peu, in ever so small a degree, thus far, pro tanto, within bounds, in a manner, after a fashion, so to speak, almost, nearly, well-nigh, short of, not quite, all but, near upon, close upon, peu s'en faut, near the mark, within an ace of, within an inch of, on the brink of, scarcely, hardly, barely, only just, no more than, about, thereabouts, somewhere about, nearly, say, be the same, be little more or less, no ways, no way, no wise, not at all, not in the least, not a bit, not a bit of it, not a whit, not a jot, not a shadow, in no wise, in no respect, by no means, by no manner of means, on no account, at no hand, dare pondus idonea fumo, magno conatu magnas nugas, small sands the mountain, moments make the year.
N simpleness, purity, homogeneity, elimination, sifting, purification, simple, uniform, of a piece, homogeneous, single, pure, sheer, neat, unmixed, unmingled, unblended, uncombined, uncompounded, elementary, undecomposed, unadulterated, unsophisticated, unalloyed, untinged, unfortified, pur et simple, incomplex, free from, exempt from, exclusive, simple, only, simpleness, purity, homogeneity, elimination, sifting, purification, simple, uniform, of a piece, homogeneous, single, pure, sheer, neat, unmixed, unmingled, unblended, uncombined, uncompounded, elementary, undecomposed, unadulterated, unsophisticated, unalloyed, untinged, unfortified, pur et simple, incomplex, free from, exempt from, exclusive, simple, only.
N artlessness, nature, simplicity, innocence, bonhomie, naivete, abandon, candor, sincerity, singleness of purpose, singleness of heart, honesty, plain speaking, epanchement, rough diamond, matter of fact man, le palais de verite, enfant terrible, artless, natural, pure, native, confiding, simple, lain, inartificial, untutored, unsophisticated, ingenu, unaffected, naive, sincere, frank, open, open as day, candid, ingenuous, guileless, unsuspicious, honest, innocent, Arcadian, undesigning, straightforward, unreserved, aboveboard, simple-minded, single-minded, frank-hearted, open-hearted, single-hearted, simple-hearted, free-spoken, plain-spoken, outspoken, blunt, downright, direct, matter of fact, unpoetical, unflattering, in plain words, in plain English, without mincing the matter, not to mince the matter, Davus sum non Oedipus, liberavi animam meam, as frank as rain on cherry blossoms.
N simplicity, plainness, homeliness, undress, chastity, simple, plain, homely, homespun, ordinary, household, unaffected, ingenuous, sincere (artless), free from affectation, free from ornament, simplex munditiis, sans facon, en deshabille, chaste, inornate, severe, unadorned, bare, unornamented, undecked, ungarnished, unarranged, untrimmed, unvarnished, bald, flat, dull, veritatis simplex oratio est.
N credulity, credulousness, cullibility, gullibility, gross credulity, infatuation, self delusion, self deception, superstition, one's blind side, bigotry, hyperorthodoxy, misjudgment, credulous person, credulous, gullible, easily deceived, simple, green, soft, childish, silly, stupid, easily convinced, over-credulous, over confident, over trustful, infatuated, superstitious, confiding, the wish the father to the thought, credo quia impossibile, all is not gold that glitters, no es oro todo lo que reluce, omne ignotum pro magnifico.
N imbecility folly, want of intelligence &c, want of intellect, shadowness, silliness, foolishness, imbecility, incapacity, vacancy of mind, poverty of intellect, weakness of intellect, clouded perception, poor head, apartments to let, stupidity, stolidity, hebetude, dull understanding, meanest capacity, shortsightedness, incompetence, one's weak side, not one's strong point, bias, infatuation, simplicity, puerility, babyhood, dotage, anility, second childishness, fatuity, idiocy, idiotism, driveling, folly, frivolity, irrationality, trifling, ineptitude, nugacity, inconsistency, lip wisdom, conceit, sophistry, giddiness, eccentricity, extravagance, rashness, act of folly, unintelligent, unintellectual, unreasoning, mindless, witless, reasoningless, brainless, halfbaked, having no head, not bright, inapprehensible, weak headed, addle headed, puzzle headed, blunder headed, muddle headed, muddy headed, pig headed, beetle headed, buffle headed, chuckle headed, mutton headed, maggoty headed, grossheaded, beef headed, fat witted, fat-headed, weak-minded, feeble-minded, dull minded, shallow minded, lack- brained, rattle-brained, rattle headed, half witted, lean witted, short witted, dull witted, blunt-witted, shallow-pated, clod-pated, addle- pated, addle-brained, dim-sighted, short-sighted, thick-skulled, weak in the upper story, shallow, borne, weak, wanting, soft, sappy, spoony, dull, dull as a beetle, stupid, heavy, insulse, obtuse, blunt, stolid, doltish, asinine, inapt, prosaic, hebetudinous, childish, child-like, infantine, infantile, babyish, babish, puerile, anile, simple, old-womanish, fatuous, idiotic, imbecile, driveling, blatant, babbling, vacant, sottish, bewildered, blockish, unteachable Boeotian, Boeotic, bovine, ungifted, undiscerning, unenlightened, unwise, unphilosophical, apish, simious, foolish, silly, senseless, irrational, insensate, nonsensical, inept, maudlin, narrow-minded, bigoted, giddy, rash, eccentric, foolish, unwise, injudicious, improper, unreasonable, without reason, ridiculous, absurd, idiotic, silly, stupid, asinine, ill-imagined, ill-advised, ill-judged, ill-devised, mal entendu, inconsistent, irrational, unphilosophical, extravagant, sleeveless, idle, pointless, useless, inexpedient, frivolous, Davus sum non, a fool's bolt is soon shot clitellae bovi sunt im, fools rush in where angels fear to tread, il n' a ni bouche ni eperon, the bookful blockhead, ignorantly read, to varnish nonsense with the charms of sound.