easy to understand, deal with, use, etc.: a simple matter;simple tools.
not elaborate or artificial; plain: a simple style.
not ornate or luxurious; unadorned: a simple gown.
unaffected; unassuming; modest: a simple manner.
not complicated: a simple design.
not complex or compound; single
occurring or considered alone; mere; bare: the simple truth;a simple fact.
free of deceit or guile; sincere; unconditional: a frank, simple answer.
common or ordinary: a simple soldier.
not grand or sophisticated; unpretentious: a simple way of life.
humble or lowly: simple folk.
inconsequential or rudimentary.
unlearned; ignorant.
lacking mental acuteness or sense: a simple way of thinking.
unsophisticated; naive; credulous.
simpleminded.
Chemistry.
composed of only one substance or element: a simple substance.
not mixed.
Botany. not divided into parts: a simple leaf;a simple stem.
Zoology. not compound: a simple ascidian.
Music. uncompounded or without overtones; single: simple tone.
Grammar. having only the head without modifying elements included: The simple subject of “The dappled pony gazed over the fence” is “pony.”Compare complete (def. 5).
(of a verb tense) consisting of a main verb with no auxiliaries, as takes (simple present) or stood (simple past) (opposed to compound).
Mathematics. linear (def. 7).
Optics. (of a lens) having two optical surfaces only.
noun
an ignorant, foolish, or gullible person.
something simple, unmixed, or uncompounded.
simples,Textiles. cords for controlling the warp threads in forming the shed on draw-looms.
a person of humble origins; commoner.
an herb or other plant used for medicinal purposes: country simples.
Origin of simple
First recorded in 1175–1225; Middle English adjective simple, simpel(le), from Old French simple, sinple, from Latin simplus “simple” (in simpla pecunia “simple fee or sum”), equivalent to sim- “one” + -plus, as in duplus “double”; Middle English noun “commoner,” derivative of the adjective; see simplex,duple, double; see also -fold; cognate with Greek háplos (see haplo-);