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eas·y (ēzē)
Share:
adj. eas·i·er, eas·i·est
1.
a. Capable of being accomplished or acquired with ease; posing no difficulty: an easy victory; an easy problem.
b. Likely to happen by accident or without intention: It's easy to slip on the wet floor. It's easy to push the wrong button.
2. Requiring or exhibiting little effort or endeavor; undemanding: took the easy way out of her problems; wasn't satisfied with easy answers.
3. Free from worry, anxiety, trouble, or pain: My mind was easy, knowing that I had done my best.
4.
a. Affording comfort or relief; soothing: soft light that was easy on the eyes.
b. Prosperous; well-off: easy living; easy circumstances.
5. Causing little hardship or distress: an easy penalty; a habit that isn't easy to give up.
6. Socially at ease: an easy, good-natured manner.
7.
a. Relaxed in attitude; easygoing: an easy disposition.
b. Not strict or severe; lenient: an easy teacher; easy standards.
8. Readily exploited, imposed on, or tricked: an easy mark; an easy victim.
9.
a. Not hurried or forced; moderate: an easy pace; an easy walk around the block.
b. Light; gentle: an easy tap on the shoulder.
10. Not steep or abrupt; gradual: an easy climb.
11. Economics
a. Less in demand and therefore readily obtainable: Commodities are easier this quarter.
b. Plentiful and therefore at low interest rates: easy money.
12. Promiscuous; loose.
adv.
1. Without haste or agitation: Relax and take it easy for a while.
2. With little effort; easily: success that came too easy.
3. In a restrained or moderate manner: Go easy on the butter.
4. Without much hardship or cost: got off easy with only a small fine.
Idiom:
easy as pie Informal
Capable of being accomplished or done with no difficulty.

[Middle English esi, from Old French aaisie, past participle of aaisier, to put at ease : a-, to (from Latin ad-, ad-) + aise, ease; see EASE.]

easi·ness n.

Synonyms: easy, simple, facile, effortless
These adjectives mean requiring little effort or posing little if any difficulty. Easy applies to tasks that require little effort: a recipe that is easy to prepare; an easy hike around the lake. Simple implies a lack of complexity that facilitates understanding or performance: instructions that are simple to follow; a simple problem that took little time to fix. Facile stresses fluency stemming from preparation: the author's facile use of literary conventions. Often, though, the word implies glibness or insincerity, superficiality, or lack of care: a supervisor's facile dismissal of an employee suggestion. Effortless refers to performance in which the application of great strength or skill makes the execution seem easy: wrote effortless prose. See Also Synonyms at comfortable.

The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition copyright ©2022 by HarperCollins Publishers. All rights reserved.
 

Indo-European & Semitic Roots Appendices

    Thousands of entries in the dictionary include etymologies that trace their origins back to reconstructed proto-languages. You can obtain more information about these forms in our online appendices:

    Indo-European Roots

    Semitic Roots

    The Indo-European appendix covers nearly half of the Indo-European roots that have left their mark on English words. A more complete treatment of Indo-European roots and the English words derived from them is available in our Dictionary of Indo-European Roots.