English Dictionary

EASY (easied, easier, easiest)

Pronunciation (US): Play  (GB): Play

IPA (US): 

Irregular inflected forms: easied  Listen to US pronunciation  Listen to GB pronunciation, easier  Listen to US pronunciation  Listen to GB pronunciation, easiest  Listen to US pronunciation  Listen to GB pronunciation

 Dictionary entry overview: What does easy mean? 

EASY (adjective)
  The adjective EASY has 12 senses:

1. posing no difficulty; requiring little effortplay

2. not hurried or forcedplay

3. free from worry or anxietyplay

4. affording pleasureplay

5. having little impactplay

6. readily exploited or trickedplay

7. in fortunate circumstances financially; moderately richplay

8. marked by moderate steepnessplay

9. affording comfortplay

10. casual and unrestrained in sexual behaviorplay

11. less in demand and therefore readily obtainableplay

12. obtained with little effort or sacrifice, often obtained illegallyplay

  Familiarity information: EASY used as an adjective is familiar.


EASY (adverb)
  The adverb EASY has 3 senses:

1. with ease ('easy' is sometimes used informally for 'easily')play

2. without speed ('slow' is sometimes used informally for 'slowly')play

3. in a relaxed manner; or without hardshipplay

  Familiarity information: EASY used as an adverb is uncommon.


 Dictionary entry details 


EASY (adjective)

 Declension: comparative and superlative 
Comparative: easier  Listen to US pronunciation  Listen to GB pronunciation
Superlative: easiest  Listen to US pronunciation  Listen to GB pronunciation


Sense 1

Meaning:

Posing no difficulty; requiring little effort

Context example:

took the easy way out of his dilemma

Similar:

user-friendly (easy to use)

smooth (lacking obstructions or difficulties)

painless (requiring little hard work or exertion)

hands-down (achieved without great effort)

elementary; simple; uncomplicated; unproblematic (easy and not involved or complicated)

clean (without difficulties or problems)

casual; effortless (not showing effort or strain)

cushy; easygoing; soft (not burdensome or demanding; borne or done easily and without hardship)

Also:

undemanding (requiring little if any patience or effort or skill)

effortless (requiring or apparently requiring no effort)

soft (compassionate and kind; conciliatory)

simple (having few parts; not complex or complicated or involved)

Attribute:

ease; easiness; simpleness; simplicity (freedom from difficulty or hardship or effort)

Antonym:

difficult (not easy; requiring great physical or mental effort to accomplish or comprehend or endure)

Derivation:

easiness (freedom from difficulty or hardship or effort)


Sense 2

Meaning:

Not hurried or forced

Synonyms:

easy; easygoing; leisurely

Context example:

at a leisurely (or easygoing) pace

Similar:

unhurried (relaxed and leisurely; without hurry or haste)

Derivation:

easiness (freedom from difficulty or hardship or effort)


Sense 3

Meaning:

Free from worry or anxiety

Context example:

by the time the child faced the actual problem of reading she was familiar and at ease with all the elements words

Also:

relaxed (without strain or anxiety)

comfortable (free from stress or conducive to mental ease; having or affording peace of mind)

Antonym:

uneasy (lacking a sense of security or affording no ease or reassurance)

Derivation:

easiness (a feeling of refreshing tranquility and an absence of tension or worry)


Sense 4

Meaning:

Affording pleasure

Context example:

easy good looks

Similar:

pleasing (giving pleasure and satisfaction)


Sense 5

Meaning:

Having little impact

Synonyms:

easy; gentle; soft

Context example:

a soft (or light) tapping at the window

Similar:

light (of little intensity or power or force)


Sense 6

Meaning:

Readily exploited or tricked

Context example:

an easy mark

Similar:

impressible; impressionable; waxy (easily impressed or influenced)


Sense 7

Meaning:

In fortunate circumstances financially; moderately rich

Synonyms:

comfortable; easy; prosperous; well-fixed; well-heeled; well-off; well-situated; well-to-do

Context example:

well-to-do members of the community

Similar:

rich (possessing material wealth)


Sense 8

Meaning:

Marked by moderate steepness

Synonyms:

easy; gentle

Context example:

a gentle slope

Similar:

gradual ((of a topographical gradient) not steep or abrupt)

Derivation:

easiness (freedom from difficulty or hardship or effort)


Sense 9

Meaning:

Affording comfort

Context example:

soft light that was easy on the eyes

Similar:

comfortable; comfy (providing or experiencing physical well-being or relief ('comfy' is informal))


Sense 10

Meaning:

Casual and unrestrained in sexual behavior

Synonyms:

easy; light; loose; promiscuous; sluttish; wanton

Context example:

wanton behavior

Similar:

unchaste (not chaste)


Sense 11

Meaning:

Less in demand and therefore readily obtainable

Context example:

commodities are easy this quarter

Similar:

available (obtainable or accessible and ready for use or service)

Domain category:

economic science; economics; political economy (the branch of social science that deals with the production and distribution and consumption of goods and services and their management)


Sense 12

Meaning:

Obtained with little effort or sacrifice, often obtained illegally

Context example:

easy money

Similar:

abundant (present in great quantity)

Domain category:

economic science; economics; political economy (the branch of social science that deals with the production and distribution and consumption of goods and services and their management)


EASY (adverb)


Sense 1

Meaning:

With ease ('easy' is sometimes used informally for 'easily')

Synonyms:

easily; easy

Context example:

success came too easy

Domain usage:

colloquialism (a colloquial expression; characteristic of spoken or written communication that seeks to imitate informal speech)


Sense 2

Meaning:

Without speed ('slow' is sometimes used informally for 'slowly')

Synonyms:

easy; slow; slowly; tardily

Context example:

please go slow so I can see the sights

Domain usage:

colloquialism (a colloquial expression; characteristic of spoken or written communication that seeks to imitate informal speech)


Sense 3

Meaning:

In a relaxed manner; or without hardship

Synonyms:

easy; soft

Context example:

the judge went easy on the young defendant

Domain usage:

colloquialism (a colloquial expression; characteristic of spoken or written communication that seeks to imitate informal speech)

Pertainym:

easy (posing no difficulty; requiring little effort)


 Context examples 


Only for that faith it would be easier to die than to live, and so be quit of all the trouble.

(Dracula, by Bram Stoker)

The materials are inexpensive, non-toxic and easy to synthesise, and with further research, could be incorporated into graphene-based devices.

(‘Magnetic graphene’ switches between insulator and conductor, University of Cambridge)

Figuring out the size, shape and mass of our galaxy is no easy feat considering that we are measuring it from within.

(Researchers Estimate Mass of Milky Way to Be 3.9 Tredecillion Pounds, The Titi Tudorancea Bulletin)

It is easy to think of animals adapting to their environment through evolution and behavioral change, but we rarely consider the same relationship in the opposite direction.

(Thai Elephants Help Spread Jungle Fruit's Seeds, Sadie Witkowski/VOA)

The cabin was small, to begin with, and to move around, as I was compelled to, was not made easier by the schooner’s violent pitching and wallowing.

(The Sea-Wolf, by Jack London)

This was using the ScreenQ test, a 15-item questionnaire that took into account easy access, frequency of use and content viewed.

(Too Much Screen Time Changes Structure of Toddlers' Brains, The Titi Tudorancea Bulletin)

There he wandered for a week, seeking vainly for fresh sign of the wild brother, killing his meat as he travelled and travelling with the long, easy lope that seems never to tire.

(The Call of the Wild, by Jack London)

This makes them easier to extract for your solar cell, and it’s more efficient to produce light from these hotspots in an LED.

(‘Messy’ production of perovskite material increases solar cell efficiency, University of Cambridge)

Oxo lies near the 0 degree meridian that defines the edge of many Ceres maps, making this small feature easy to overlook.

(New Ceres Images Show Bright Craters, NASA)

Edith, on the other hand, had realized; but the realization did not make the task any easier.

(Love of Life and Other Stories, by Jack London)



 Learn English with... Proverbs 
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