Adjacent Words

Simply definitions

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Webster's 1828 Dictionary

SIM'PLY, adv.
1. Without art; without subtilty; artlessly; plainly. Subverting worldly strong and worldly wise By simply meek.
2. Of itself; without addition; alone. They make that good or evil, which otherwise of itself were not simply the one nor the other.
3. Merely; solely. Simply the thing I am Shall make me live.
4. Weakly; foolishly.

WordNet (r) 3.0 (2005)

adv
1: and nothing more; "I was merely asking"; "it is simply a matter of time"; "just a scratch"; "he was only a child"; "hopes that last but a moment" [syn: merely, simply, just, only, but]
2: absolutely; "I just can't take it anymore"; "he was just grand as Romeo"; "it's simply beautiful!" [syn: just, simply]
3: absolutely; altogether; really; "we are simply broke"
4: in a simple manner; without extravagance or embellishment; "she was dressed plainly"; "they lived very simply" [syn: plainly, simply]

Merriam Webster's

adverb Date: 14th century 1. a. without ambiguity ; clearly b. without embellishment ; plainly c. directly, candidly 2. a. solely, merely <eats simply to keep alive> <simply cleaned it up and went to bed — Garrison Keillor> b. really, literally <the concert was simply marvelous> — often used as an intensive <simply crawling with geniuses — F. Scott Fitzgerald>

Oxford Reference Dictionary

adv. 1 in a simple manner. 2 absolutely; without doubt (simply astonishing). 3 merely (was simply trying to please).

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Simply Sim"ply, adv. 1. In a simple manner or state; considered in or by itself; without addition; along; merely; solely; barely. [They] make that now good or evil, . . . which otherwise of itself were not simply the one or the other. --Hooker. Simply the thing I am Shall make me live. --Shak.

Collin's Cobuild Dictionary

Frequency: The word is one of the 1500 most common words in English. 1. You use simply to emphasize that something consists of only one thing, happens for only one reason, or is done in only one way. The table is simply a chipboard circle on a base... Most of the damage that's occurred was simply because of fallen trees... = just ADV: ADV before v, ADV with cl/group [emphasis] 2. You use simply to emphasize what you are saying. This sort of increase simply cannot be justified... So many of these questions simply don't have answers... = just ADV: ADV before v, ADV adj [emphasis] 3. see also simple

Soule's Dictionary of English Synonyms

ad. 1. Plainly, artlessly, sincerely, truly. 2. Alone, absolutely. 3. Merely, barely, solely, of itself. 4. Weakly, foolishly.

Moby Thesaurus

absolutely, aesthetically, after a fashion, alone, altogether, appreciably, apprehensibly, articulately, artistically, artlessly, ascetically, at any rate, at best, at least, at most, at the least, at the most, at the outside, at worst, austerely, barely, becomingly, but, casually, clearly, coherently, commonly, commonplacely, comparatively, completely, comprehensibly, decently, decorously, definitely, detectably, distinctly, easily, effortlessly, elegantly, en famille, entirely, exclusively, explicitly, expressly, facilely, fairly, familiarly, fully, genteelly, genuinely, gracefully, guilelessly, hands down, in a manner, in a way, in good taste, in part, in plain English, in plain terms, in plain words, in some measure, incompletely, informally, ingenuously, innocently, integrally, intelligibly, irreducibly, just, leastwise, lightly, like clockwork, like nothing, limpidly, lucidly, matter-of-factly, merely, mildly, moderately, modestly, naturally, no sweat, not comprehensively, not exhaustively, obviously, offhand, offhandedly, on easy terms, only, openheartedly, openly, ordinarily, part, partially, partly, pellucidly, perspicuously, plainly, point-blank, pro tanto, properly, prosaically, purely, quietly, readily, really, relatively, relaxedly, sans ceremonie, seemly, severely, simply and solely, singly, smoothly, so far, solely, somewhat, sparely, sparsely, starkly, swimmingly, tastefully, thus far, to a degree, to some degree, to the point, tolerably, totally, unaffectedly, unambiguously, unanalyzably, unassumingly, unceremoniously, unconstrainedly, understandably, undividedly, unequivocally, unmistakably, unobtrusively, unofficially, unpretentiously, unreservedly, visibly, wholly, with taste, without ceremony, without difficulty