Facile vs Slick - What's the difference?
facile | slick | Synonyms |
Easy, now especially in a disparaging sense; contemptibly easy.
* , vol.I, New York, 2001, p.243:
Effortless, fluent (of work, abilities etc.).
* 1932 , (Duff Cooper), Talleyrand , Folio Society 2010, p. 54:
* 1974 , (Graham Greene), (The Honorary Consul) , Pocket Books, New York, p.54:
* 1990 , (Peter Hopkirk), The Great Game , Folio Society 2010, p. 372:
Lazy, simplistic (especially of explanations, discussions etc.).
* 2012 , (Chris Huhne), The Guardian , 3 May 2012:
(chemistry) Of a reaction or other process, taking place readily.
Slippery due to a covering of liquid; often used to describe appearances.
Appearing expensive or sophisticated.
Superficially convincing but actually untrustworthy.
* 2014 , Ian Black, "
Clever, making an apparently hard task easy; often used sarcastically.
Extraordinarily great or special.
sleek; smooth
* Chapman
A covering of liquid, particularly oil.
Someone who is clever and untrustworthy.
A tool used to make something smooth or even.
(sports, automotive) A tire with a smooth surface instead of a tread pattern, often used in auto racing.
A helicopter.
(printing) A camera-ready image to be used by a printer. The "slick" is photographed to produce a negative image which is then used to burn a positive offset plate or other printing device.
A wide paring chisel used in joinery.
To make slick
* {{quote-news,
year=2009,
date=January 14,
author=Melissa Clark,
title=Green, Gold and Pink: Fast, Easy and Delicious,
url=http://www.nytimes.com/2009/01/14/dining/14appe.html,
work=New York Times, passage=So I slicked the broccoli with oil and seasonings and set it to roast.}}
As adjectives the difference between facile and slick
is that facile is easy, now especially in a disparaging sense; contemptibly easy while slick is slippery due to a covering of liquid; often used to describe appearances.As a noun slick is
a covering of liquid, particularly oil.As a verb slick is
to make slick.As a proper noun Slick is
a term of address, generally applied to males, possibly including strangers, implying that the person addressed is slick in the sense of "sophisticated", but often used sarcastically.facile
English
Adjective
(en adjective)- as he that is benumbed with cold sits shaking, that might relieve himself with a little exercise or stirring, do they complain, but will not use the facile and ready means to do themselves good […].
- His facile disposition made him many friends.
- we can learn the impression that he made upon a stranger and a foreigner at this period, thanks to the facile pen of Fannu Burney.
- "Discipline," Jorge Julio Saavedra was repeating, "is more necessary to me than to other more facile writers.
- A facile and persuasive writer, he also turned out countless newspaper articles on Russian aims in Central Asia and how best these could be thwarted.
- There is a facile view that our green commitments – to tackling climate change, avoiding air and water pollution, protecting natural habitats – are an obstacle to growth. The message of the commodity markets is surely different.
- Decarboxylation of beta-keto acids is facile ...
Synonyms
* (skillful) See alsoExternal links
* * * ----slick
English
Adjective
(er)- This rain is making the roads slick .
- The top coating of lacquer gives this finish a slick look.
- They read all kinds of slick magazines.
- That new sales rep is slick . Be sure to read the fine print before you buy anything.
Courts kept busy as Jordan works to crush support for Isis", The Guardian , 27 November 2014:
- The threat the most radical of them pose is evidently far greater at home than abroad: in one characteristically slick and chilling Isis video – entitled “a message to the Jordanian tyrant” – a smiling, long-haired young man in black pats the explosive belt round his waist as he burns his passport and his fellow fighters praise the memory of Zarqawi, who was killed in Iraq in 2006.
- Our new process for extracting needles from haystacks is extremely slick .
- That was a slick move, locking your keys in the car.
- That is one slick bicycle: it has all sorts of features!
- Both slick and dainty.
Noun
(en noun)- Careful in turn three — there's an oil slick on the road.
- The oil slick has now spread to cover the entire bay, critically endangering the sea life.
- You'll go much faster if you put on slicks .
- The project was delayed because the slick had not been delivered to the printer.
Synonyms
* (tyre) slick tire, slick tyreVerb
(en verb)- The surface had been slicked .