Facile

 WORD OF THE DAY

facile / adjective / FASS-ul

Definition
1a: easily accomplished or attained
1b: shallow, simplistic
1c: used or comprehended with ease
1d: readily manifested and often lacking sincerity or depth
2 (archaic): mild or pleasing in manner or disposition
3a: ready, fluent
3b: poised, assured

Examples
"It feels as though the songs just came to be. They reveal a facile elegance that does not let on the laborious writing and technical work that went into their creation."
— Julien A. Luebbers, The Spokesman Review (Spokane, Washington), 20 Aug. 2021

But in the less palmy days of their marriage and the final years of his life, Lennon produced (with Yoko's help) shallow, facile recordings that cannibalized his early work.
— Francine Prose, The Lives of the Muses, 2002

Did You Know?
Would you have guessed that "facile" and "difficult" are related? They are!
"Facile" comes to us through Middle French, from the Latin word facilis, meaning "easy, and ultimately from facere, meaning "to make or do."
"Difficult" traces to "facilis" as well, but its history also involves the negative prefix dis-, meaning "not."
"Facile" can mean "easy" or "easily done," as befits its Latin roots, but it now often adds the connotation of undue haste or shallowness, as in "facile answers to complex questions."