Definitions
from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.
- noun The property, condition, or quality of being simple or uncombined.
- noun Absence of luxury or showiness; plainness.
- noun Absence of affectation or pretense.
- noun Lack of sophistication or subtlety; naiveté.
- noun Lack of good sense or intelligence; foolishness.
- noun Clarity of expression.
- noun Austerity in embellishment.
from The Century Dictionary.
- noun The state or property of being simple
- noun Freedom from complexity or intricacy.
- noun Freedom from difficulty of execution or understanding; easiness; especially, lack of abstruseness; clearness; also, an instance or illustration of simple clearness.
- noun Freedom from artificial ornament; plainness, as of dress, style, or the like.
- noun Artlessness of mind or conduct; unaffectedness; sincerity; absence of parade or pretense.
- noun Ignorance arising from lack either of education or of intelligence; especially, lack of common sense; foolishness; childishness; also, an act of folly; a foolish mistake.
- noun Synonyms See
simple .
from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.
- noun The quality or state of being simple, unmixed, or uncompounded.
- noun The quality or state of being not complex, or of consisting of few parts.
- noun Artlessness of mind; freedom from cunning or duplicity; lack of acuteness and sagacity.
- noun Freedom from artificial ornament, pretentious style, or luxury; plainness.
- noun Freedom from subtlety or abstruseness; clearness.
- noun Weakness of intellect; silliness; folly.
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.
- noun The quality or state of being
simple ,unmixed , oruncompounded ; as, the simplicity of metals or of earths. - noun The quality or state of being not
complex , or of consisting of few parts; as, the simplicity of a machine. - noun Artlessness of mind; freedom from
cunning orduplicity ; lack ofacuteness andsagacity . - noun Freedom from artificial
ornament , pretentious style, orluxury ;plainness ; as, simplicity of dress, of style, or of language; simplicity of diet; simplicity of life. - noun Freedom from
subtlety orabstruseness ; clearness; as, the simplicity of a doctrine; the simplicity of an explanation or a demonstration. - noun Weakness of intellect;
silliness ;folly . - noun rare An act or instance of foolishness.
from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.
- noun the quality of being simple or uncompounded
- noun a lack of penetration or subtlety
- noun absence of affectation or pretense
- noun lack of ornamentation
- noun freedom from difficulty or hardship or effort
Etymologies
from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License
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Examples
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The term simplicity has two significations in English.
The Life and Legends of Saint Francis of Assisi Father Candide Chalippe
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Dandy was now upon what they call the simplicity dodge; that is to say, he affected that character of wisdom for which certain individuals, whose knowledge of life no earthly experience ever can improve, are so extremely anxious to get credit.
The Black Baronet; or, The Chronicles Of Ballytrain The Works of William Carleton, Volume One William Carleton 1831
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To remedy this inconvenience, he concludes this spiritual substance much more noble than matter; that its prodigious subtilty, which he calls simplicity, but which is only the effect of metaphysical abstraction, secures it from decomposition, from dissolution, from all those revolutions, to which material bodies, as produced by nature, are evidently exposed.
The System of Nature, Volume 2 Paul Henri Thiry Holbach 1756
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The head of the same committee in the House, Rep. Bill Deeken, R-Jefferson City, said he likes the idea in principle and would be willing to have the bill heard, something Nodler said he expects because of what he called the simplicity of the legislation.
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A part of the issue may be that the word "simplicity" is that element which is quite often focused upon and in a rather narrow sense at that.
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And you're right; this kind of simplicity is not only delicious, but also healthy.
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The term simplicity has two significations in English. ”
The Life and Legends of Saint Francis of Assisi Chalippe, Father Candide 1917
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If simplicity is the goal I would recommend the single non-transferable vote (SNTV), which is probably the simplest PR-like system there is.
Matthew Yglesias » Diverse Representation Without Gerrymandering 2010
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Driving an SUV everyday as opposed to a single jet flight can only be argued in the sense of breakdown of the actions, merely equating them for the sake of simplicity is logically useless.
Matthew Yglesias » Vancouver Suffering From Snow Shortage 2010
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Driving an SUV everyday as opposed to a single jet flight can only be argued in the sense of breakdown of the actions, merely equating them for the sake of simplicity is logically useless.
Matthew Yglesias » Vancouver Suffering From Snow Shortage 2010
mandarine commented on the word simplicity
To be a philosopher is not merely to have subtle thoughts, not even to found a school, but so to love wisdom as to live according to its dictates, a life of simplicity, independence, magnanimity, and trust.
Henry David Thoreau
December 8, 2006
brtom commented on the word simplicity
The art of art, the glory of expression and the sunshine of the light of letters, is simplicity. Walt Whitman, Preface 1855
December 9, 2006
Louises commented on the word simplicity
The hunger, in its vicious simplicity, teaches you how to be a werewolf. From "The Last Werewolf" by Glen Duncan.
April 1, 2012