simplistic
adjective
Harlow RobinsonMatt RidleyNaomi Rosenblum
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The facts of nature and of life are more apt to be complex than simple. Simplistic theories are generally one-sided and partial, wrote the American clergyman James Freeman Clarke in the 19th century, nicely illustrating the difference between plain, ordinary simple and the then-new adjective simplistic. Simplistic is generally synonymous with oversimplified, but we didn't have the verb oversimplify and its participle oversimplified until well into the 20th century. Simplistic is sometimes used in the neutral sense of "not complicated" (in which case it is synonymous with simple) but this borders on misuse-simplistic is generally understood to be pejorative.
Examples of simplistic in a Sentence
Charles Bramesco, Vulture, 10 Apr. 2025
Kennedy, likewise, seems focused more so on overly simplistic solutions, like firing the staff of FDA’s food center, than on altering the structures that have made those workers so inefficient.
—Nicholas Florko, The Atlantic, 25 Mar. 2025
Yet these distinctions can be arbitrary and simplistic.
—Bill English, Forbes, 24 Mar. 2025
The simplistic view of the industry just isn’t the smart take.
—David Doty, Forbes.com, 3 Apr. 2025
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Cite this Entry
“Simplistic.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/simplistic. Accessed 24 Apr. 2025.
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simplistic
adjective
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