simplify en · VERB
Pronunciation
Etymology
From the French simplifier, equivalent to simple + -ify.
Meanings
-
(transitive) To make simpler, either by reducing in complexity, reducing to component parts, or making easier to understand.
In ancient times there existed in the region of the Tung-chia River 佟佳江 in present Liaoning a people called Kao-chü-li 高句驪. In the fifth century they moved their capital to P’ing-jang. The name of the country was simplified to Kao-li 高麗 (Korea).
1949, Karl August Wittfogel, Fêng Chia-Shêng, “Translation: Tribes”, in History of Chinese Society Liao (907–1125), American Philosophical Society, →OCLC, page 104:Quizzed on simplifying fares, Heaton-Harris said the Government had inherited a "mix of ticketing and unbelievable, interesting fares up and down the system, and we do want to simplify them".
2021 October 6, “Network News: Lords hear fares and ticketing are key areas for improvement”, in RAIL, number 941, page 22:
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(intransitive) To become simpler.
Thus, throughout the nineteenth century, linguists generally held that more grammatically complex languages were older and that languages tended to simplify over time—the four grammatical cases of German as contrasted with the seven of Latin, for example.
2006, Karen Oslund, “Reading Backwards: Language Politics and Cultural Identity in Nineteenth-Century Scandinavia”, in David L. Hoyt, Karen Oslund, editors, The Study of Language and the Politics of Community in Global Context, Lexington Books, →ISBN, page 126:
Forms
| Spelling | Features | Labels | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| simplified | Tense=Past, VerbForm=Part | lexicographic | |
| simplified | Tense=Past | lexicographic | |
| simplifying | Tense=Pres, VerbForm=Part | lexicographic | |
| simplifies | Number=Sing, Person=3, Tense=Pres | lexicographic |
Deriveds
desimplify · simplifiable · simplificatory · ultrasimplify · supersimplify · simplification · oversimplify · unsimplify · simplifier
Synonyms
uncomplicate · decomplexify · decomplicate
Translations (66)
mi whakarūnā (to make simpler) · de sich vereinfachen (to become simpler) · fi yksinkertaistaa (to make simpler) · sv förenkla (to make simpler) · la simplificō (to make simpler) · nb forenkle (to make simpler) · ru упрости́ться (to become simpler) · nn forenkla (to make simpler) · de vereinfachen (to make simpler) · az sadələşmək (to become simpler) · el απλοποιώ (to make simpler) · la simplificor (to make simpler) · ota قولایلامق (to make simpler) · lv vienkāršot (to make simpler) · ro simplifica (to make simpler) · tl pumayak (to become simpler) · ca simplificar (to make simpler) · sq thjeshtëzoj (to make simpler) · pt simplificar-se (to become simpler) · no forenkles (to become simpler) · fr simplifier (to make simpler) · tt гадиләштерергә (to make simpler) · be спрашча́ць (to make simpler) · nn forenkle (to make simpler) · hu egyszerűsít (to make simpler) · ru упроща́ть (to make simpler) · pt simplificar (to make simpler) · uk спро́щувати (to make simpler) · ast simplificar (to make simpler) · cmn 簡化 /简化 (to make simpler) · ro simplifica (to become simpler) · ru упроща́ться (to become simpler) · fa ساده کردن (to make simpler) · fi yksinkertaistua (to become simpler) · pl uprościć (to make simpler) · ms mempermudah (to make simpler) · pl upraszczać (to make simpler) · be спрасці́ць (to make simpler) · sv förenklas (to become simpler) · sv simplifieras (to become simpler) · pl upraszczać się (to become simpler) · da forenkle (to make simpler) · nl versimpelen (to make simpler) · tr sadeleştirmek (to make simpler) · fa سادیدن (to make simpler) · ja 単純化 (to make simpler) · ota قولایلانمق (to become simpler) · bg опростя́вам се (to become simpler) · pl uprościć się (to become simpler) · ru упрости́ть (to make simpler) · vo balugükön (to make simpler) · fa ساده شدن (to become simpler) · gl simplificar (to make simpler) · bg опростя́ (to make simpler) · az sadələşdirmək (to make simpler) · es simplificar (to make simpler) · hu egyszerűsödik (to become simpler) · bg опростя́вам (to make simpler) · tl payakin (to make simpler) · cs zjednodušit (to make simpler) · vi đơn giản hóa (to make simpler) · sv simplifiera (to make simpler) · uk спрости́ти (to make simpler) · nl vereenvoudigen (to make simpler) · de einfacher werden (to become simpler) · tr sadeleşmek (to become simpler)