I can't tell her now. It's not that simple anymore.
Source: tatoeba (1370)
Simple
/ˈsɪm.pəl/
Synonyms for "simple" (740 found)
Ranked by relevance and common usage.
Closest matches (10)
Adjective(4 words)
Strong matches (15)
Related words (25)
Adjective(13 words)
Noun(3 words)
bare phrasebasic cognitive skillbasic greedy method
Adjective(1 words)
Choosing the right synonym
- Closest matches in this entry: elementary, uncomplicated, a certain, absolute, absurd.
- basic: 'Basic' can be neutral (basic principles) or pejorative (that's so basic). Context matters more than with 'simple.'
- Sentence evidence is available for simple, so synonym choice can be checked against real usage rather than a flat word list.
- Ranking signals come from wordnet, opengloss, moby, derived_reverse, and related lexical sources.
Synonym selection checklist
- Match the part of speech before comparing meanings.
- Check whether the synonym changes intensity, formality, or emotional tone.
- Read the replacement inside the full sentence, not just beside "simple".
- Prefer the clearest word over the most unusual word when writing for speed or comprehension.
When not to replace "simple"
Keep "simple" when the sentence already sounds natural, when a synonym would add unintended emphasis, or when readers need the most familiar wording. A synonym should clarify or sharpen the message, not simply make the sentence look more varied.
If two options seem close, choose the one that best matches the audience and purpose of the sentence.
Replacement workflow
1. Preserve meaning
Choose a synonym only if it keeps the core idea of "simple" intact in the sentence you are editing.
2. Tune tone
Check whether the replacement sounds more formal, casual, emotional, technical, or forceful than the original word.
3. Re-read context
Read the full sentence after the swap. Keep the synonym only when the sentence becomes clearer or more precise.
Review note: Synonym lists are ranked with lexical data and reviewed for practical writing value. Use the comparison notes, sentence evidence, and source labels together; a high-ranking synonym can still be wrong when the audience, register, or grammar changes.
Final fit check
After choosing a replacement for "simple", read the sentence once for meaning and once for rhythm. The best synonym should feel natural in the full sentence, not only accurate in a word list.
If the synonym makes the sentence slower, vaguer, or more dramatic than intended, keep "simple" or choose a simpler alternative from the closest-match group.
How these synonyms differ
- basic - 'Basic' can be neutral (basic principles) or pejorative (that's so basic). Context matters more than with 'simple.'
- elementary - 'Elementary' implies foundational knowledge, it's the starting point, not the whole picture.
- plain - 'Plain' as a synonym for 'simple' emphasizes lack of decoration or pretense, plain food, plain speech.
- uncomplicated - 'Uncomplicated' deliberately signals the absence of complexity. It's a longer word that works when 'simple' might sound dismissive.
Related word relations
OpenGloss and ConceptNet supply richer edges like generalizations, collocations, and derivations.
More general
16 entriesappearancebasic devicedescriptordesignherbherbaceous plantindividualmechanical conceptmedicinemortalpersonqualityremedysomebodysomeonesoul
More specific
11 entriesCollocations
12 entriesapothecary simplesherbal simplemedicinal herbone ingredient medicinesimple arithmeticsimple designsimple explanationsimple fractionsimple remedysimple tasksimple termssingle ingredient remedy
Inflections
3 entriesDerivations
7 entriesAntonyms
2 entriessimilar
67 entriesShowing 16 of 67 words.
Translations
193 translations across 108 languages.
Afrikaans
1 entries- eenvoudig adj (uncomplicated)
Albanian
1 entries- thjeshtë adj (uncomplicated)
Ancient Greek
2 entries- λιτός adj (uncomplicated)
- ἁπλόος adj (uncomplicated)
Arabic
4 entries- بسيط adj (uncomplicated)
- بَسِيط adj (uncomplicated)
- بَسِيط adj (uncomplicated)
- سَهَل adj (uncomplicated)
Aragonese
1 entries- simple adj (uncomplicated)
Armenian
2 entries- հասարակ adj (uncomplicated)
- պարզ adj (uncomplicated)
Assamese
2 entries- সহজ adj (uncomplicated)
- সৰল adj (uncomplicated)
Asturian
2 entries- cenciellu adj (uncomplicated)
- simple adj (uncomplicated)
Azerbaijani
2 entries- bəsit adj (uncomplicated)
- sadə adj (uncomplicated)
Bashkir
1 entries- ябай adj (uncomplicated)
Basque
1 entries- erraz adj (uncomplicated)
Belarusian
2 entries- лёгкі adj (uncomplicated)
- про́сты adj (uncomplicated)
Bengali
1 entries- সহজ adj (uncomplicated)
Breton
1 entries- eeun adj (uncomplicated)
Bulgarian
2 entries- ле́сен adj (uncomplicated)
- прост adj (uncomplicated)
Burmese
1 entries- ရိုး adj (uncomplicated)
Catalan
2 entries- senzill adj (uncomplicated)
- simple adj (uncomplicated)
Central Kurdish
2 entries- ئاسان adj (uncomplicated)
- ساکار adj (uncomplicated)
Chinese Mandarin
3 entries- 容易 adj (uncomplicated)
- 簡單 /简单 adj (uncomplicated)
- 簡易 /简易 adj (uncomplicated)
Cornish
1 entries- sempel adj (uncomplicated)
Czech
3 entries- jednoduchý adj (uncomplicated)
- lehký adj (uncomplicated)
- prostý adj (uncomplicated)
Danish
2 entries- enkel adj (uncomplicated)
- simpel adj (uncomplicated)
Dutch
2 entries- eenvoudig adj (uncomplicated)
- simpel adj (uncomplicated)
Esperanto
1 entries- simpla adj (uncomplicated)
Estonian
1 entries- lihtne adj (uncomplicated)
Faroese
1 entries- einfaldur adj (uncomplicated)
Finnish
3 entries- selko- adj (uncomplicated)
- simppeli adj (uncomplicated)
- yksinkertainen adj (uncomplicated)
French
1 entries- simple adj (uncomplicated)
Galician
2 entries- simple adj (uncomplicated)
- sinxelo adj (uncomplicated)
Georgian
4 entries- იოლი adj (uncomplicated)
- მარტივი adj (uncomplicated)
- სადა adj (uncomplicated)
- უბრალო adj (uncomplicated)
German
2 entries- einfach adj (uncomplicated)
- simpel adj (uncomplicated)
Gothic
1 entries- 𐌰𐌹𐌽𐍆𐌰𐌻𐌸𐍃 adj (uncomplicated)
Greek
1 entries- απλός adj (uncomplicated)
Gujarati
1 entries- સાદું adj (uncomplicated)
Haitian Creole
1 entries- senp adj (uncomplicated)
Hawaiian
1 entries- maʻalahi adj (uncomplicated)
Hebrew
1 entries- פשוט adj (uncomplicated)
Hindi
2 entries- आसान adj (uncomplicated)
- सरल adj (uncomplicated)
Hungarian
1 entries- egyszerű adj (uncomplicated)
Hunsrik
1 entries- eenfach adj (uncomplicated)
Icelandic
1 entries- einfaldur adj (uncomplicated)
Ido
1 entries- simpla adj (uncomplicated)
Indonesian
2 entries- mudah adj (uncomplicated)
- sederhana adj (uncomplicated)
Interlingua
2 entries- simple adj (uncomplicated)
- simplice adj (uncomplicated)
Irish
1 entries- simplí adj (uncomplicated)
Italian
2 entries- mero adj (uncomplicated)
- semplice adj (uncomplicated)
Japanese
3 entries- 単純な adj (uncomplicated)
- 易い adj (uncomplicated)
- 簡単な adj (uncomplicated)
Kapampangan
4 entries- karaniuan adj (uncomplicated)
- marimut adj (uncomplicated)
- masaguli adj (uncomplicated)
- mayan adj (uncomplicated)
Kazakh
2 entries- жеңіл adj (uncomplicated)
- қарапайым adj (uncomplicated)
Khmer
1 entries- មិនពិបាក adj (uncomplicated)
Korean
1 entries- 간단(簡單)하다 adj (uncomplicated)
Kyrgyz
2 entries- жеңил adj (uncomplicated)
- жөнөкөй adj (uncomplicated)
Ladino
3 entries- kolay adj (uncomplicated)
- sempl adj (uncomplicated)
- sémpliche adj (uncomplicated)
Lao
1 entries- ງ່າຍ adj (uncomplicated)
Latin
1 entries- simplex adj (uncomplicated)
Latvian
2 entries- parasts adj (uncomplicated)
- vienkāršs adj (uncomplicated)
Lithuanian
1 entries- paprastas adj (uncomplicated)
Luxembourgish
2 entries- einfach adj (uncomplicated)
- liicht adj (uncomplicated)
Macedonian
3 entries- едно́ставен adj (uncomplicated)
- ле́сен adj (uncomplicated)
- прост adj (uncomplicated)
Malay
1 entries- mudah adj (uncomplicated)
Malayalam
1 entries- ലളിത adj (uncomplicated)
Maltese
1 entries- sempliċi adj (uncomplicated)
Manx
3 entries- macaintagh adj (uncomplicated)
- neuchialgagh adj (uncomplicated)
- oney adj (uncomplicated)
Marathi
1 entries- सरळ adj (uncomplicated)
Mirandese
1 entries- lhano adj (uncomplicated)
Mongolian
1 entries- энгийн adj (uncomplicated)
Māori
1 entries- waingōhia adj (uncomplicated)
Nepali
3 entries- सरल adj (uncomplicated)
- साधा adj (uncomplicated)
- साधारण adj (uncomplicated)
Norman
1 entries- sîmpl'ye adj (uncomplicated)
Northern Kurdish
2 entries- hêsan adj (uncomplicated)
- sade adj (uncomplicated)
Occitan
1 entries- simple adj (uncomplicated)
Odia
1 entries- ସରଳ adj (uncomplicated)
Old English
1 entries- ānfeald adj (uncomplicated)
Ottoman Turkish
4 entries- بسیط adj (uncomplicated)
- بیاغی adj (uncomplicated)
- ساده adj (uncomplicated)
- قولای adj (uncomplicated)
Persian
1 entries- ساده adj (uncomplicated)
Plautdietsch
1 entries- eefach adj (uncomplicated)
Polish
3 entries- lekki adj (uncomplicated)
- prosty adj (uncomplicated)
- łatwy adj (uncomplicated)
Portuguese
1 entries- simples adj (uncomplicated)
Punjabi
2 entries- سادہ adj (uncomplicated)
- ਸਾਦਾ adj (uncomplicated)
Romanian
2 entries- necomplicat adj (uncomplicated)
- simplu adj (uncomplicated)
Romansch
2 entries- sempel adj (uncomplicated)
- simpel adj (uncomplicated)
Russian
2 entries- лёгкий adj (uncomplicated)
- просто́й adj (uncomplicated)
Scottish Gaelic
1 entries- sìmplidh adj (uncomplicated)
Serbo-Croatian
4 entries- jȅdnostāvan adj (uncomplicated)
- lak adj (uncomplicated)
- лак adj (uncomplicated)
- је̏дноста̄ван adj (uncomplicated)
Sicilian
4 entries- sèmplici adj (uncomplicated)
- sèmprici adj (uncomplicated)
- sìmplici adj (uncomplicated)
- sìmprici adj (uncomplicated)
Silesian
1 entries- ajnfachowy adj (uncomplicated)
Slovak
3 entries- jednoduchý adj (uncomplicated)
- prostý adj (uncomplicated)
- ľahký adj (uncomplicated)
Slovene
3 entries- enostaven adj (uncomplicated)
- lahek adj (uncomplicated)
- preprost adj (uncomplicated)
Spanish
2 entries- sencillo adj (uncomplicated)
- simple adj (uncomplicated)
Swedish
2 entries- enkel adj (uncomplicated)
- simpel adj (uncomplicated)
Tagalog
4 entries- liso adj (uncomplicated)
- payak adj (uncomplicated)
- simple adj (uncomplicated)
- yano adj (uncomplicated)
Tajik
1 entries- сода adj (uncomplicated)
Tamil
3 entries- எளிது adj (uncomplicated)
- எளிமையான adj (uncomplicated)
- எளிய adj (uncomplicated)
Tatar
2 entries- беркатлы adj (uncomplicated)
- гади adj (uncomplicated)
Telugu
1 entries- సరళమైన adj (uncomplicated)
Thai
1 entries- ง่าย adj (uncomplicated)
Turkish
2 entries- basit adj (uncomplicated)
- sade adj (uncomplicated)
Turkmen
2 entries- sada adj (uncomplicated)
- ýönekeý adj (uncomplicated)
Ukrainian
2 entries- ле́гкий adj (uncomplicated)
- про́стий adj (uncomplicated)
Urdu
1 entries- آسان adj (uncomplicated)
Uzbek
2 entries- oson adj (uncomplicated)
- sodda adj (uncomplicated)
Vietnamese
4 entries- giản dị adj (uncomplicated)
- giản đơn adj (uncomplicated)
- mộc mạc adj (uncomplicated)
- đơn giản adj (uncomplicated)
Volapük
1 entries- balugik adj (uncomplicated)
Welsh
2 entries- arddun adj (uncomplicated)
- syml adj (uncomplicated)
West-Frisian
1 entries- ienfâldich adj (uncomplicated)
Yiddish
1 entries- פּשוט adj (uncomplicated)
Yoruba
1 entries- rọrun adj (uncomplicated)
Zazaki
1 entries- gerges adj (uncomplicated)
Sample sentences
31 total sentences available.
Except that here, it's not so simple.
Source: tatoeba (1424)
Math is like love: a simple idea, but it can get complicated.
Source: tatoeba (1580)
Any universe simple enough to be understood is too simple to produce a mind able to understand it.
Source: tatoeba (1747)
Showing 4 of 31 available sentences.
Common questions
What are the closest synonyms for "simple"?
Closest matches include elementary, uncomplicated, a certain, absolute, absurd.
How is "basic" different from "simple"?
'Basic' can be neutral (basic principles) or pejorative (that's so basic). Context matters more than with 'simple.'
How should I check whether a synonym fits "simple"?
Compare the replacement against real sentence context. This entry includes sample sentences so you can check tone, grammar, and meaning before swapping words.